In the blood
by karloss999
Summary: Lily Evans had a secret. James Potter loved her despite it. Harry Potter has a secret... A Creature!(Powerful!)Harry story with Reasonable!Staff (-Albus), Good!Snape, Smart-ish!Villains and quite a bit of weirdness, magical and otherwise.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N_** Right then. Just to get it out of the way, all the usual I don't own anything disclaimers etc, etc. You know the drill. Now, a few things about this story. Initially I wanted to start the story at the 4th year, during the Tri-Wiz. As I developed the idea further I figured that the plot I wanted to use would have considerable impact on earlier events in the timeline. This is the result of that. If this first chapter (and maybe the second) feel a bit rushed it is because I simply wanted to get trough the pre-Hogwarts stuff quickly. I am curious if some of you readers can figure out the species Harry (and Lily) is.

Enjoy the read and do review. After all, reviews is the lifeblood of fanfic writers.

And no, this story has absolutely nothing to do with vampires.

* * *

 _Godric's Hollow. October 31st, 1981._

Lily Potter had just walked into the nursery where her son slept, intending to make sure everything was fine before going to sleep herself, when the sound of an explosion filled the air. Within moments she heard the sounds of spellfire from downstairs. There was only one explanation. Before she could turn around to run back it stopped, and she just knew... she knew that he was dead.

Turning to her son she lost a bit of self control, her tear-filled eyes reverting to their slitted appearance. "Oh Harry." she sobbed, "I'm so sorry... so very sorry..." she paused, trying to hear if anyone was coming, "I wanted to be there for you, but I can't do this... I only held together because of James, and now..." her tears fell on Harry, waking him, "I love you very, very much and I can only pray you will forgive me one day..." Lily put her hand on Harry's forehead and channelled every bit of magic she had into him, "I give you all I have, all that I am, my child. May this power keep you safe. May it aid in finding your one. May together you find happiness." as the glow subsided Lily heard footsteps approaching the door. Mowing to stand between the door and Harry she whispered, "I love you James Potter."

The door exploded inward. Lily didn't flinch when several pieces of wood shattered against her face, leaving no mark. And there _He_ stood. Voldemort. Lily had always found his snake-like appearance amusing, for how silly it was if nothing else. "Step aside." his voice was still as silky and smooth as ever. Lily knew she could easily escape with Harry still. Unfortunately for all involved, she had no intention of surviving this.

"Never." Her voice was calm, no sign of the fear Voldemort was expecting. He was almost impressed.

"Such bravery. Almost a pity to waste it." the Dark Lord paused. "Almost." _**Avada Kedavra**_.

As the green cloud rapidly closed the distance to her unmoving form, Voldemort caught a glimpse of her eyes, bright green... slitted... eyes. He just _knew_ something bad was about to happen.

Lily didn't flinch when the spell was fired, moved or hit her. And unlike expectation she didn't instantly collapse. A soul as powerful as hers would not go quietly. With a scream that grew into a bestial roar a wave of raw magic left her body along with her soul, shattering every window in the town, breaking every spell and enchantment it touched and catapulting the disembodied wraith of Lord Voldemort to somewhere in mid-Atlantic.

He would not return to Britain for several months, and by then it would be far too late for him to regain a body. For over nine years he would hide in the place where Tom Riddle had died and Voldemort born, an abandoned castle deep in the darkest corner of Albania. The legendary Scholomance. But this is not his story...

* * *

When Albus Dumbledore left the infant Harry Potter at the doorstep of Privet Drive 4, he had no idea what he had just left in the middle of a muggle neighbourhood.

Albus had left spells to protect Harry from the elements and random passer-bys but he had failed to account for animals. Fortunately for Harry, for the several hours he spent outside Privet Drive 4, he did have 'bodyguards'. When an old cat noticed the strange basket and came to investigate over a dozen grass snakes rose around it, hissing and snapping at the cat. The poor animal fled in terror and would never return to Privet Drive. When the snakes heard footsteps inside the house they quickly left, their duty fulfilled.

The first time Harry showed how different he was happened when he was four. Dudley pushed him when he was at the top of the stairs and Harry tumbled down them. A 'normal' human might have broken several bones or worse. Even a wizard would have numerous bruises and minor fractures. Harry didn't have even a single bruise. That fact alone terrified the Dursleys and Harry spent a whole month locked in the cupboard without being given any food. It was the first time he had felt hungry.

When Harry was six he was weeding the flowerbeds for the first time when several snakes emerged from the grass. Harry quickly discovered that he could not only talk to them, but that the snakes would do whatever he asked them to. Their help would enable Harry to finish any outdoors chores much faster that the Dursleys though possible. Still, Harry had no idea _why_ the snakes understood him, much less obeyed him.

One of the most... unusual event happened shortly after Harry started to go to school. The Dursleys didn't want to 'waste the money' but they knew questions would be asked if Harry didn't go. During the first weeks of school Harry showed his prodigious intellect. While not quite a child prodigy, Harry easily was at the top of his class. When the first school report card was brought home, it was at a bad time. Vernon had been turned down for a promotion and had gotten drunk. When Harry presented his report card to be signed, Vernon was enraged Harry had far outperformed Dudley in school. In a drunken rage he grabbed a cricket bat and swung it at Harry. When Harry tried to block the swing with his arm, the bat broke against his forearm, leaving no mark. That was the last time any of the Dursleys attempted physical violence against Harry.

Shortly before his 11th birthday Harry ended up on a most unexpected visit to the zoo. The Dursleys had been quite subdued when it came to Harry for the last several years. Instead of hate or fear they tried to treat him with indifference, like he was just some random person staying in their house. Of course, while Dudley's gang did leave Harry alone, at least after their first and only attempt to bully him, they did endlessly harass anyone who tried to be friendly with him. And the fact he made schoolwork look easy meant there weren't that many kids who wanted to try in the first place. At any rate, the zoo visit was the first time Harry found any hint about the origin of his abilities. When visiting the reptile enclosure Harry made sure to stay behind as the crowd the Dursleys were part of left. Harry wanted to try something. Walking up to the largest snake there he looked right at it and whispered.

"Can you understand me?"

"Of course, great one." While the snake, a large Boa Constrictor answering didn't surprise Harry, the address it used did.

"Great one?"

"You do not know? You are but a hatchling, have your parents abandoned you?" the snake, a female Harry judged from the voice, sounded equally surprised and concerned.

"My parents are dead." Harry answered in a sad voice.

"Oh... I am truly sorry to hear that." the snake lowered her head. "There is little I can tell you about your people, great one. But there is one thing you must know."

Suddenly every serpent in the enclosure rose to attention and spoke as one, "No serpent shall harm them. No serpent shall disobey them."

When Harry returned home he was still in mild shock over what had happened at the enclosure. The way the snakes acted almost made it seem like they though he was a god or something... Harry wasn't sure if he should be exited or terrified about the idea.

Several days later a strange letter arrived with the rest of morning mail. For one it was addressed to Harry. For another it was from somewhere called Hogwarts. And for third, the Dursleys actually seemed exited to see it. The next day a professor McGonagall arrived to take Harry to Diagon Alley.

When Harry entered Gringotts he instinctively knew that he was in goblin territory. Still, when the goblin the professor was talking to bared his teeth in an obvious sign of hostility, Harry responded in kind. Evidently it took the goblin by surprise and Harry later heard the professor remark that she had never received such a prompt service from the goblins. While visiting the tailor for school robes, _'Quills, parchment, robes... just how old-fashioned these wizards are?'_ ,Harry met his first 'Pureblood'. The meeting left a bad taste in his mouth and Harry made a private promise to stay the hell away from him and anyone like him. Fortunately, it seemed that despite being famous hardly anyone recognized him. The two largest shocks were when he was taken to buy an owl, _'What do I need a post owl for?'_ and his wand. At the owl emporium the cacophony of hoots and screeches stopped the moment Harry entered. As he looked around the suddenly silent shop he noticed that none of the owls would look at him, averting their gaze the moment he looked at them., However one, a brilliant-white owl at the rear did meet his gaze. As Harry approached it a most unusual event happened. It bowed to him. Both the shopkeeper and professor were shocked at the sight. They had never seen anything like it.

The 'adventure' of obtaining a wand however... When Harry entered the shop he was surprised by how eager Olliwander looked. The finding of a wand however quickly turned absurd. The first two wands did nothing and the third actually hurt to be touched. When several more wands had the same effect on Harry, Olliwander quickly noticed that every wand that had had that effect shared a core type. He quickly disqualified any more wands with that particular core. After almost half an hour he finally presented Harry with a small dusty box stored in the back room. Despite the elegant craftsmanship the wand inside it did nothing for Harry. For some reason that seemed to surprise both adults. After several more tests Olliwander finally admitted defeat.

"But... What do I do now?" Harry was half-terrified that he would be thrown out from the school before he even got there.

"Well that is obvious. You need a custom wand." Olliwander smiled. "I can make one for you. It is not as cheap or quick as these," he gestured to the shelves filled with wands, "but in the case of a difficult customer I do have a small stock of the harder to obtain wand cores and woods. For obvious reasons they are only used in special circumstances, like now." he turned to the professor, "Minnie, this will take a while. If you want to you can come back after, oh about an hour."

"I think I will." the stern professor gave one last look at Harry and left.

"Well then. Follow me." Olliwander lead Harry into the back room.

Almost hour and a half later Harry had finally found the materials for his wand. Redwood with a Basilisk fang core. If Olliwander was surprised by that he didn't show it. Deep down he was. Redwood was very unwieldy, only the most powerful wizards could bend it to their will. But if they could, the wand would be able to channel much more magic than it was considered safe for most wands. The basilisk fang however was a borderline Dark core. Olliwander didn't know why it would choose Harry, but for some reason, when he explained that a Basilisk is a large magical snake Harry laughed and murmured something that he couldn't hear.

When professor McGonagall returned Harry was sitting in the shop, waiting on what Olliwander had called 'finishing touches'. When the wand was finally presented to him it was exquisite. The dark red colouring reminded Minerva of Lily's hair. The reaction when Harry picket it up was more powerful than any Olliwander had seen. He wasn't that surprised, given that it was a redwood wand.

Another month of being ignored by the Dursleys saw Harry devour the books he had bought and then some. He did go on another trip to Diagon to obtain more books, among them many on magical creatures and legends. Still, despite his searching he found nothing about a 'serpent god'. Well, other than the one from central America, that he quickly discarded as it didn't match his observations.

* * *

Finally September 1st was here. The Dursleys delivered Harry to the train station early, eager to be rid of him. Looking around he calmly made his way to the portal professor McGonagall had told him about. Hedwig, his owl, was already making her way north by her own power. Harry didn't know why but when he watched the snowy owl fly off he felt a slight pang of jealousy. As he approached the entrance to platform 9¾ deep in thought he collided with someone.

"Oh. Sorry, wasn't paying attention." Harry immediately turned to help the girl he had collided with get up. He noticed the two adults behind her, given their visual similarity he marked them as her parents. Then he noticed the design of the trunk the girl had with her. "Oh starting a new school as well?" when the three seemed to become uncomfortable he smiled, "Isn't that a _magical_ experience?" he smirked when the girls eyes went wide as saucers.

"Hogwarts?" she whispered.

"Hogwarts." he whispered back.

The two children were interrupted when the man, the girls father Harry presumed, cleared his throat. "Well, that is good and all, but maybe we should get a move on? The train leaves in half an hour."

"Yeah. Right this way." Harry calmly put the rather heavy trunk the girl was pulling behind her on the trolley he had and begun to walk towards the portal. The girl followed him.

When her father grumbled, his wife smiled, "It was your hope that she might find some friends."

"Friends, sure. Not a boy-friend."

"Daniel Granger! Hermione is eleven! Besides, he does seem like a nice boy." she smiled, looking at the two kids walking a bit ahead from them, at a distance she though they didn't hear her. She was wrong.

Smiling at the conversation behind him, Harry turned to the girl, Hermione. "So what do you like?"

"What?" his question had definitely caught her off-guard.

"What do you like? How do you spend you free time?" he tried to be as polite as possible.

She cast her gaze downwards, "Books. I read books."

Harry smiled. "Really? What kind?"

"Well, I did just finish the Lord of the Rings." she still didn't look up.

"I like those. The Hobbit, not so much." Harry continued, pleased to find another book-fan.

At that Hermione did look up, "Really?"

"Yeah. Being the top of my class really didn't make me any friends." Harry sighed.

"I know what you mean." she sighed as well.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Harry smirked. "Well then. I hope you won't be jealous when I beat you in class."

Hermione smiled at that. "Only if you won't be when I beat you."

Harry stopped and turned to face her, "Is that a challenge?" his voice was filled with mirth,

Hermione had stopped and was facing him, "And what if it is?" he voice just as mirthful.

The two elder Grangers exchanged a shocked look. Their daughter had _never_ been this open with anyone her age. After a quick laugh Hermione said her farewells to her parents when Harry remembered he needed to properly introduce himself to them. Clearing his throat he stepped up to the man he knew to be Daniel Granger, "Sir, I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, but I did kinda bump into you." he extended his hand, "Harry Potter, a pleasure to meet you." he ignored the gasp behind him.

Dan took in the child before him. He was certainly acting more like a polite young man than a child. And that name, Harry Potter. Hadn't Hermione mentioned it? Some sort of Wizard hero or something? He returned the handshake, "Well, Harry, a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm Daniel Granger, that is my wife Emily and our daughter Hermione." he then pulled Harry closer and whispered is his ear, "If you hurt her I will hurt you twice as bad, got it?"

Harry smirked and whispered back, "Yes sir. Thank you for permission to date your daughter."

Before Dan could recover from the shock the two kids had gone trough the portal. Taking in the shocked look on his face Emily smiled, "What did you do now?"

"I just gave him the 'boyfriend' threat." Dan could barely whisper.

Emma grinned, "Oh dear. Shall I start planning the wedding?"

The look she received had her burst into laughter.

* * *

Moments after entering 9¾ Harry burst out laughing.

"What did I miss?" Hermione looked at him in confusion.

Getting a hold on his laughter Harry managed to answer, "Oh, just a prank on your dad. Well, at least right now it was a prank."

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing..." Harry responded with the most innocent voice he could muster. "So, are you ok with us sharing a compartment?" he turned toward the half-empty platform, "I mean if you don't..." He never got to finish that thought.

"Of course. I'm ok with us sharing that is. Let's go." Hermione grabbed hold of the trolley their trunks were on and begun to walk toward the train. She had finally found a person she just... clicked with. She never believed those soppy romance novels about 'love at first sight', but now she wasn't so sure.

"Alright..." Harry smiled and followed her. He didn't know what, but there was certainly... something about this girl, Hermione, that drew his attention. He had never been an open person, preferring to keep his own counsel, keeping everyone at a distance, but now he wasn't so sure.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.] Well, I _do_ own the computer this was written on, but nevermind that... I will probably update the first chapter with this information later but for now the update schedule is one chapter a week. Depending on how quickly I write I _might_ be upping it to two chapters eventually, but one-a-week gives me enough time to work on the story and not burn out. Chapter 3 is already almost ready, with only final spellcheck needed and chapter 4 just got scrapped, so... Unless something goes horribly wrong expect one chapter every Monday. Without further ado, on with the story!

* * *

Finding an empty compartment turned out to be easy, barely half of the train was occupied. Picking one near the very end the duo settled in. Harry placed his trunk, filled mostly with books and a small amount of clothes, on the storage rack with remarkable ease. That was one thing Harry had noticed early, he was surprisingly strong, despite his slight frame. Seeing Hermione struggle with her own he took the trunk from her and placed it next to his.

"Wow. You're strong." Hermione was slightly in awe, her trunk was so heavy her father had had trouble lifting in in and out from their car. Harry made it look easy.

"Yeah, well..." Harry was slightly embarrassed, he hadn't intended to show off his 'abilities', "between the chores and the training I have been doing..." he trailed off.

"Huh." Hermione sat down. "So, have you read the schoolbooks we have this year?"

Harry was glad for the change in topic, "Yeah. I really liked the potions book, it seems like it will be a very interesting subject. Charms and Defence seems much less practice-oriented." he smiled.

"Yeah. I found transfiguration really interesting. I mean, using magic to change an object into something else... the applications are..." Hermione seemed to struggle to describe her thought.

"Limitless." Harry smiled. "And you are right, transfiguration seems fascinating. Though I got the impression it was more to do with the imagination than the actual spells."

Hermione furrowed her brow in curiosity, "How so?"

"Well, from what I understood it is all about visualization. Picturing whatever you have turning into what you want and then making it happen with magic. The incantation and wand movements are there only to make it easier." Harry enjoyed talking with someone who actually _understood_ what he was saying.

"You know, I think that is a very interesting theory. I think I'll have to try it." Hermione smiled, "So what did you think about..."

Almost a full hour later the two had exhausted discussion on school subjects and were in the process of discussing their favourite parts of _Hogwarts: A History_ when a red haired boy knocked on the door of their compartment.

"Yes?" Harry answered, keeping his calm, polite persona up front.

"Can I sit here? The other compartments are full." he seemed shy but there was something about him that rubbed Harry wrong. Still, he let him in. "Thanks. I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Wesley." he introduced himself.

"Hermione Granger." she certainly didn't like being interrupted, they were just getting to the good parts.

"Harry Potter." he barely got the words out of his mouth when the boy seemingly exploded in excitement.

"Really!? That's awesome!" despite Ron's seemingly-friendly behaviour Harry got the feeling there was something wrong. "Do you really have the scar?" That confused Harry, as far as he knew he had never been injured in his life.

"What scar?" he voiced his confusion.

"You know. The one you got when You-Know-Who attacked you. All the books about you say you got one." that gut feeling Harry had kept getting stronger.

"For one, I don't have any scars, at all. For two losing my parents to a psychotic megalomaniac is not 'awesome' and for three, just so you know, Voldemort never got to raise his wand at me. My mum took him down with her." Harry finished speaking with irritation strong in his voice.

"Don't say his name!" Ron squeaked.

"Why?" Harry retorted, becoming quite annoyed by the insensitive redhead, "You think speaking his name too many times will summon him? Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort." Harry made a show of looking around, "Nope, nothing."

Hermione had picked up on Harry's irritation and decided to pitch in, "Harry, you know that seven is the most potent magical number, not three."

Harry turned to her, half-ready to unload more of his irritation, when he noticed the mirth in her eyes, "Of course, how could I forget. Do you want the honours?" he smirked when the redhead left the compartment murmuring about 'mental know-it-alls'. Harry noticed that Hermione had heard him and seemed to deflate, "Hermione?" he sat opposite to her.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking, "That was what everyone at my old school called me. An annoying bookworm know-it-all." she was on the verge of tears, "I hoped that it would be different here, but..."

Harry kneeled down before her, taking her hands in his, "Do you want to know why they do that?" she looked at him, bright green eyes meeting brown, "They are jealous."

Hermione was confused, "Jealous? Of what?"

Harry sat down next to her, "Of people like us." he smiled, "They might not understand it in their mind, but subconsciously they know..." he trailed off.

"Know what?" Hermione was intrigued now, her parents had never offered this kind of explanation.

Harry took a deep breath, "People like Ron, they live, some even make a name for themselves. But in no time at all they are forgotten. They exist to keep the world going." he paused, "But people like us, we don't 'keep the world going', we decide _where_ the world is going _._ "

Hermione thought she got the general idea but was still confused. "That doesn't really make sense."

"Doesn't it? I mean, lets look at, say, a popular girl at school. Everyone looks at her, everyone adores her, she spends her time being fashionable and talking about music and what-not. Twenty years later nine out of ten such girls are housewives at best. The few exception that do get lucky can make a name for themselves but they are just that, exceptions." Harry paused. "And then there are people like you and me. We are the bookworms, the ones all those 'popular kids' of the school laugh about. But with only a bit of work we end up graduating from the most prestigious universities with honours, getting positions at institutions that work to change the world, possibly even get to the point where the leaders of entire nations seek our advice." Harry smiled, "And we don't need absurd amount of luck to make it happen, just work and our natural talent." he could see that Hermione begun to understand, "There are thousands of Rons for every Hermione, and you have to remember; if people like us cared what they think, we would still be living in caves and praying to gods for forgiveness every time lightning struck." that finally brought a smile to Hermione's face.

The two sat in silence for quite some time, not noticing they were still holding hands. Finally Hermione spoke, "I think... I think I understand. It's just hard to accept that I am... just.. _different_ from everyone else. Even if it is a good thing."

Harry smiled, "Not everyone."

At that point the door to their compartment opened. A shy-looking somewhat-chubby boy was looking at them, "Uhh... Have you seen a toad?"

"No, but we did see a weasel." Harry chuckled.

Hermione shot him a disapproving glare but didn't correct him before turning to the boy, "We can help you look."

Harry looked back at her and shook his head in amusement. As the two got up they finally noticed their still connected hands. With a slight blush they let go. As they stepped into the hall Harry spoke out, "You know, it would probably be a lot faster to just find an older student..." he trailed off as he noticed a pink-haired girl wearing a 'P' shaped badge on her robes coming their way. "Or we could just ask that prefect." he concluded with a smile.

"Wotcher kids. Something a problem?" the older witch smiled as she walked up to the trio.

"My toad went missing. Again..." the boy shyly answered.

"Oh, a missing pet. If you can tell me his name I'll just summon him back." the pink haired witch regarded Harry with a strange look. One that didn't make him feel uncomfortable.

"Trevor." the boy informed them. A quick incantation later a large toad was floating down from the front of the train. Placing it in his pocket the boy looked at them, "Thank you. I'm Neville by the way. Neville Longbottom."

"Hermione Granger."

"Harry Potter."

"Blimey, it is you!" the older witch exclaimed.

Harry grimaced, "Yes it is. No I don't have a scar, no the books are false, anything I missed?" he looked at her with an annoyed expression.

"Uhh, what?" she appeared thoroughly confused, "No I meant I..." she sighed, "can we just step out of the hallway for a moment? We are kinda blocking the traffic." with a shrug Harry and Hermione returned to their compartment. Harry pulled Neville into it as well. Stepping in the older witch closed the door before turning to face Harry, "Right, sorry for that outburst. It's just.. well. I haven't seen you since you were a babe so..."

"What!?" Harry was both shocked and confused.

"I'm Tonks. Our parents were friends and our grandmothers were actually sisters so... I'm kinda... your cousin. Several times removed or something like that... I think. But we are definitely related." her rapid-fire delivery was notably filled with worry and anxiety.

Harry took several moments to wrap his mind around the situation. "You mean... I have living relatives out there? Relatives that aren't the Dursleys?" there was a definite spark of hope in him.

"Well, I dunno what Dursleys are, but yeah. I mean, there is not that many, and none of them are particularly close ones, but... yeah."

Harry slowly broke out into a massive grin. Despite everything else, he was ecstatic to learn he had other relatives besides his aunt.

At this time a blonde boy followed by two large 'bodyguards' approached the compartment door, but noticing the much older student in there decided against entering and left.

"There is no way Tonks is your name. It is a surname, so... why are you not using your actual name?" Harry inquired his... cousin. It felt nice to have someone he actually wanted to refer to as such.

"If you knew it you would understand. But I am so not telling you." Tonks retorted.

"What if I promised to never use it?" Harry countered, "Would you tell it to me then?"

Tonks peered him right in the eye, "Promise me." she spoke in a surprisingly cold voice.

"I promise." Harry didn't break eye contact. Tonks leaned in and whispered it to him. As she leaned back Harry's eyes had widened in shock, "Wow. Some parents should not be allowed to name their kids."

"What?" Tonks looked at him in surprise.

"I said..."

"I heard. It's just.. well... That is what I always say when my name comes up." she laughed.

"Well, it is one hell of a name, Dora." Harry smirked.

Tonks, or Dora froze, "What did you call me?"

"Dora. It doesn't see you confused with your parents, doesn't have any negative implication and is much less of a mouthful that Nym.." Harry stopped when he found himself staring down a wand.

"Don't finish that sentence."

Harry fell back at the seat, laughing, "As you wish... Cousin Dora." Not much later Dora started laughing as well.

While Harry got to know his cousin, Hermione turned to Neville, "Neville, right?" she drew his attention.

"Uhh, yes?" he seemed somewhat uncomfortable.

"I can understand that this whole magic thing can be overwhelming..." Hermione begun, only to be interrupted.

"Oh, no. I mean... I mean my family is... we are one of the old families. Gran has never cared about that though." he seemed to relax a tiny bit.

"Oh, my bad. Its just that you seemed so nervous, I just assumed." Hermione begun to feel uncomfortable herself.

"I get it. I was really surprised to get my Hogwarts letter. Everyone thought I was a squib for the longest time. I still am really bad at magic." he left an impression of experiences none of the other three really liked.

"Really? I mean, can't you show us _some_ spell you know?" Harry and Dora had taken interest in the conversation.

"Maybe." Neville shrugged. He pulled out his wand only to be instantly stopped by Harry.

"Is that really your wand? There is no way you got that from Olliwander." It was obviously used, for quite some time probably.

"It's my dad's. Gran said..." he answered in a low voice.

"Well, unless your Gran is Britain's secret wand-lore expert, then your problems with magic are almost certainly due to an ill-matched wand." Harry interrupted. When the others looked at him with wide eyes he shrugged, "I spent the better part of two hours getting a custom wand fitted. I was curious and Olliwander told me some things to pass the time." he looked at Neville, "Like why a wizard needs his own wand; that ill-matched wands can, and almost always do cause eventual problems with control, not to mention the build-up of residual magic causes problems in any process that is sensitive to magic. Like potion brewing." he sighed, "So I would advise you to get a proper, your own, wand, before your magic starts to get used to fighting against this one."

Harry's monologue was met with a long moment of silence, before Dora whistled in amazement, "Cor. Harry, you actually got Olliwander to tell you about wand-lore? That just now was more than I ever learned, blimey, you probably know more about wands than most adult wizards already." Harry was astonished about that, he had assumed this was common knowledge in the wizarding world.

"Well, I suppose I could write Gran about this, see if she can..." Neville trailed off.

"Oh, I can put a word in with your head of house, after you get sorted." Dora smirked. "Well, kids, cousin," she winked at Harry, "we will have to pick this up later, I still have a patrol to finish." with a laugh she left the compartment.

"Nev, we were talking about what subjects we are looking forwards to," Harry gestured to Hermione, "before you came in. What about you?" The shy boy seemed to light up and begun to talk all about his interest in Herbology. A half hour later Harry noticed Dora passing their compartment, she winked when she noticed Harry looking at her. Several more hours later, well after nightfall the train finally arrived at their destination. Because Neville had left his trunk at another compartment he had to go get it when they had decided to change into school uniforms. While Neville fetched his trunk and Hermione changed Harry stood guard outside their compartment. One thing he noticed while doing that was the number of empty compartments near them. That feeling he had had about the Wesley boy returned in full force.

Not that much later the train finally arrived at their destination. Stepping out of the train, the trio immediately noticed the literal giant of a man standing to one side. He was holding a lantern and calling the first years to him. "That's Hagrid." the three hadn't noticed Dora approach them, "The first years, that's you lot," she smirked at them, "take the boats across the lake. The view is amazing." she sighed wistfully. "Go on then. I'll see you at the feast!" she left, joining some other students, Harry assumed her friends.

Gathering with the other first-years Harry, Hermione and Neville eventually followed Hagrid, the grounds-keeper of Hogwarts down to a small pier and got into a boat together. The fourth spot, much to the disappointment of Harry and Hermione was filled by Ron. He acted as if he hadn't insulted them but was instead their best friend. The two decided to ignore the rude boy.

As the small fleet of boats crossed the lake, Harry had to agree with Dora, the view was magnificent. About half-way across the lake Harry felt a strange tingle wash over him. It wasn't painful or even unpleasant, just unexpected. After leaving the boats and ascending a long spiralling staircase they arrived at the castle door. Harry had a feeling that what they were going trough was as much part of the 'new student ritual' as the actual sorting. He listened to the speech by professor McGonagall, but much of his mind was wandering. The castle felt... not like a castle. For some reason he wanted to refer to Hogwarts as her rather than it... he had no idea why.

Minerva McGonagall had just finished her introductory speech to the new students and turned to leave when she noticed Harry Potter talking to Hermione Granger about... something. It was quite obvious that the two were already on friendly terms. As she walked off to prepare the Hat she smiled to herself. Filius will be so happy to have those two.

The professor had barely left when Harry was approached by a blonde boy he immediately recognized. From the way he acted it was obvious he did not remember their previous encounter. "Harry Potter." he spoke loud enough to be heard but still quiet enough to not be _over_ heard, "I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy. I'm sure you understand by now that some families are simply better than others, more worthy of your time. I can help you in that." he extended his hand, "I can help you with a lot of things." he smiled what Harry supposed was to be charming smile, it came out more as a grimace.

"Well, mister Malfoy, there is one thing you can certainly help me with." Harry smirked to himself when the boy perked up, "You can keep your inbred bigoted shit-brain well and truly away from me and my friends." Harry smiled at the frozen shock on the boys face. "You had one chance with me and you already blew it back at Diagon Alley, remember?" Harry smirked, "You have already shown me that your family is at the very bottom of the 'worth my time' list, so stop wasting my air." He turned around and walked back to Hermione and Neville. Draco stood frozen is shock. He was about to yell at Potter when he remembered the meeting he had spoken of. With dawning horror Draco understood that his opportunity with bringing Potter into the Cause had been well and truly lost during that disaster. But how was he supposed to know that that muggle-looking kid was Harry Potter? It's not as if he looks anything like he is described in the books. It was an honest mistake. Bloody Potter for taking it personal...

Entering the Grand Hall side by side both Harry and Hermione gaped at the enchanted ceiling. "It's enchanted to look like the sky outside..." Hermione whispered.

"by Rowena Ravenclaw during the construction of the castle. Everyone but her said it was her greatest work." Harry finished the passage from _Hogwarts: A History_. The two shared a smile. It did feel good to have someone to _talk_ to.

The Sorting was surprisingly... entertaining. Harry did think that he should have been more surprised by a talking, even singing, hat, but after everything he had seen recently he took it in a stride. Though the song was... odd, it was still quite nice. As the sorting progressed Harry kept a watchful eye on the blond ponce, who did occasionally glance back. Harry was determined to _not_ end up in the same house as him. Hermione was the first of the three to get sorted. It did take several long moments before the hat announced Gryffindor, much to the surprise of not just Harry but also, apparently, several professors. Not much later Neville went to the hat, after some words of encouragement from Harry. He joined Hermione in Gryffindor and all but sealed what house Harry would be in. Especially given that Malfoy got sorted into Slytherin. Finally, it was his turn. "Harry Potter." Two simple words that brought silence to the entire hall. Harry ignored the stares and whispers as he walked up to the hat, they were inconsequential. As the hat dropped over his eyes Harry suddenly though back to his earliest memory, of his mother saying him goodbye.

 _Oh my... If I was capable to, I would most certainly be crying right now, mr Potter._

 _'Are you the hat?'_

 _Yes. The name's Alexander. And... well... you are truly your mother's son._

 _'What do you mean?'_

 _She was the same as you. Sadly my enchantments prevent me from telling more. Now where to put you..._

 _'Gryffindor.'_

 _Are you sure? You would certainly make a fine Lion. Ravenclaw would also be ecstatic to have you. And in Slytherin..._

 _'Gryffindor. I am_ not _going to Slytherin. Ever.'_

 _Oh my. And what could cause such a conviction?_

 _'Malfoy.'_

 _Ah... I see. My point stands true, you are indeed the son of Lily Evans. Well, that and your kind is know for being stubborn._

 _'Wait, what?'_

 _ **Gryffindor!**_ the hat shouted into the silent hall. Harry had spent much more time under the Hat than any other student, even some of the professors had begun to get worried. When he stood up to walk to the table his two friends were already at it erupted into cheers. I took Harry several moments to finally get seated next to Hermione. Not the least because several older-years tried to pull him to sit with them.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.] Another week, another chapter. Not much to say here other than informing you right now that the story won't begin to truly diverge from canon until late second year. (I'll let you make the connection) And it will still stay _relatively_ close to it through the tri-wiz. Well, that is the current plot setup at least. We still have to get to there.

About Tonks: I am running on the assumption that she was a 7-th year at this point. 2nd and 3rd years (for Harry & co) she is in Auror training and out by 4th which is why Moody can 'teach' at Hogwarts despite her being his protégé.

Kept you long enough, on with the story!

* * *

"Horrifying death... Is he insane or just senile?" Harry mumbled to himself as the first years Gryffindors followed their fifth year Prefect, a Percy Weasley, _'Another one? How many of them are there?'_ to their common room. The only truly unpleasant part of the sorting ceremony happened when Ron got sorted into Gryffindor as well. Still, Harry had enjoyed the feast. Even though he didn't _need_ to eat an awful lot, in fact his 'experiences' had shown him that one good meal a week is quite enough for his strange biology, he enjoyed good food as much as the next bloke. Well, probably not as much Ron, the table manners of that boy could make anyone give up eating. The strangest thing had been the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, said to be the greatest wizard since Merlin, informing the students about an out-of-bounds corridor. The way he spoke about it Harry would believe he was issuing a challenge. Besides, this is a school full of kids, saying something is 'forbidden' is the quickest way to get the kids to do it, or go there... "I wonder how many... hours will pass before someone goes to that corridor." Harry whispered to Hermione, "I bet that by this time tomorrow at least one student will have taken a peek."

"Harry!" she whisper-shouted, "the Headmaster told everyone it is forbidden to go there."

He smirked, "Yes. And that is why I am upping the time to tomorrow instead of end-of-week."

"What?" her brow furrowed in confusion, Harry found that surprisingly cute.

"Hermione... For one, it was very stupid of him to _tell_ us to not go there. It was basically a challenge. If you want to keep something safe, you keep it a secret. Especially at a school full of kids." Harry sighed, "I can understand that you want to respect him..." Harry took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Hermione, we will need to talk about this sometime later." She nodded, already curious about what Harry had meant.

The Gryffindor common room was... cosy. Almost immediately Harry went to a window. The look from the tower was amazing, the mirror-like Black Lake stretching out into the night, merging with the darkness of the Forbidden Forest. The same gnawing feeling Harry had whenever he watched Hedwig fly returned as he gazed out into the night. Harry closed his eyes and, just for a moment, he could imagine how it would feel to fly across the lake and the forest, leaving the castle far below him, his wide, black wings cutting through the air... Harry snapped out of his day-dreaming. _'Wings? What wings? I don't... Where did that come from?'_ At least it seemed that nobody had noticed his... moment as everyone else were listening to the prefects. Harry joined Neville as they walked to their dormitory for the next seven years.

The very first thing Harry did when entering the dormitory was swapping their bed assignments around so that he and Ron would be at the opposite ends of the room. Harry wasn't quite ready to place Ron in the same category as Malfoy, but he wasn't far from it. Finally he got into the bed, curled up and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

While the new students were settling in for their first night at Hogwarts, at another part of the castle the four heads of houses were having a drink.

"I must say... after what you told me of miss Granger and mister Potter I was very much expecting them to join my Claws." Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw spoke up after emptying his glass of Goblin ale.

"I was as surprised as you." Minerva McGonagall turned to look at one of the photos in her office, "They both are very intelligent. I can scarcely imagine what made the Hat put them in the house of the brave."

"Their bravery?" the third head of house, Pomona Sprout smirked, "Then again, from the impression I got off of him, Potter would have likely followed that girl into any house."

"Maybe." the last person in the room grunted. "It seems like there was some altercation between Potter and the younger Malfoy." Severus Snape, head of Slytherin smirked, "Apparently Draco had forgotten that he had already managed to thoroughly insult Potter when he approached him today. The way he got shot down would have made Lily proud." he had one of his rare smiles on.

"You won't have any problems with him, will you?" Minerva was worried, the rivalry between Severus and James Potter had been legendary.

"Of course not. I knew Lily couldn't be with me. And when her mate was killed I was already far too deep to be able to walk away." he sighed, "Besides, it takes a special kind of person to love someone despite her being unable to love you back." he chuckled, "Do I wish I could have been that person? Sometimes. But I know that I never was."

The room fell into silence. Severus rarely spoke of Lily, but when he did... Finally Pomona found her voice, "That... is an awfully adult attitude Severus."

He chuckled again, "I know. Don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to maintain."

With some more small-talk and final discussions about class schedules the meeting went on for quite some time before they finally retired to their private rooms. Before going to sleep Severus opened a drawer in his desk and took a long look at the muggle photo he kept there. "I will look after him, Lily. Just as I promised."

* * *

As the first rays of sun entered the first year Gryffindor dorm Harry was already up, stretching himself not unlike a cat before leaving to take a shower. Only when he was almost fully dressed did any of the others started to wake up. With a chuckle at his room-mates Harry left the dorm and went down to the common room. To his surprise, Hermione was already there. "Wow. And here I thought I was an early raiser." he smirked as he sat down next to her.

"Oh." she looked up, surprised, "I've always gotten up early." she marked her place in the book she was reading and put in in her book-bag. "So. I remember you wanted to tell me something yesterday?"

Harry sighed, "Yeah." he looked around the empty common room, "Am I right in assuming that your lack of same-age friends caused some... issues?" seeing her confusion he smiled, "I had the same problems when I begun school. The other students would either ignore me or make fun of me. I looked to the teachers for help." at that he did notice recognition in Hermione's eyes. He was spot on. "In a perfect world, they would have helped, at least pointed me in the right direction. It wasn't a perfect world." Harry paused.

"You mean... your teachers didn't help you?" Hermione had a hard time understanding that, her teachers and parents both had been very supportive.

"One of them did. My art teacher." Harry smiled at the memory, "Of course, it helped that I am really talented at that." the smile vanished from his face, "The others... at best they ignored me, at worst..." he sighed, "Well, I think you get the idea."

Hermione was horrified. How could anyone working with children ignore when one of their charges come to them for help. Or even worse, be offended by it? Had she really been the exception?

Seeing her expression Harry knew she understood, "The thing I am trying to tell you, the thing you _must_ understand." he looked her right in the eyes, "This is not a perfect world." In six words Harry had managed to shake what Hermione had been building up for years. Her conviction that adults, the elders, the ones in authority knew better would not break that easy, but it was taking quite a battering. "I'm not saying don't trust anyone. I'm sure there are teachers here who we can trust and who do have our best interest at heart, but... well. I am almost certain there are also those who do not. For me it comes natural by now, to doubt, to question. I only want to make sure you don't put your faith in the wrong people and suffer because of it. As I did..." He finished with a whisper. The two sat in silence for quite some time. Hermione knew, deep down, that her view of the world was at least a bit naive. Some part of her wondered why she should trust Harry, but another, much larger part, knew that he was being honest with her.

"Well, after such depressing thoughts, shall we head for our first breakfast in this ancient magical castle?" Harry got up, offering his hand to Hermione. Shaking the grim thoughts out of her mind, or at least to the background of it, she took the offered hand and they left for the Great Hall... Still holding hands.

Neither of them noticed the cat that had been listening in on them leaving in the direction of their Head-of-House's office.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall was conflicted. On one side, it was almost physically painful that the son of one of her all-time favourite students has had such life experiences. On the other side, she was impressed by the attitude he had displayed. She decided then and there to prove to Harry Potter that she was someone he could trust. As it was usual for her, she had gone to check on the Gryffindor first-years and had been surprised to see both mister Potter and miss Granger already awake. She had been slightly less surprised by the reaction her feline instincts had to his smell. It was the same she had had to Lily Evans. Lily had never shared the full details of what she was with anyone, except James probably. If she had, he had never spoken of it. Minerva found it incredibly sad that Harry would be cursed to a fate all too similar to his mother. Then again, there were at least a few people in the school who had been friends of Lily and could help him. She and Severus chief among them. With a sigh she took the prepared lesson schedules and made her way to the Great Hall.

* * *

After sitting down at the Gryffindor table, in an otherwise almost empty Great Hall, Hermione took to preparing a balanced breakfast from the variety of foods provided. Only after she was done did she notice that Harry was slowly eating a lone piece of bacon and didn't seem interested in actually having a breakfast. "Harry? Is something wrong?" She looked at him in concern.

"No. It's just..." he shrugged, "I'll probably be running on that feast from last night for most of the week." looking around he took a goblet of pumpkin juice. "It's just the way I work."

To Hermione it seemed impossible and yet Harry seemed to treat is as a fact. Her curiosity about the strangeness of one Harry Potter was put aside when Professor McGonagall entered the hall and headed right for them. "Good morning you two." she regarded them for a moment, "Here's your lesson schedules, don't be late." she paused before turning to Harry, "Your mother was a good friend of mine. If you ever need to talk, my door is open." Before Harry could recover from the surprise she left them and took her seat at the head table.

"Harry?" Hermione's voice snapped him out of his confusion, "What was that about?"

Looking at the head table he whispered back, "I have no idea."

It was only when Hermione was almost done with her meal that the rest of Gryffindor first years arrived, together with an irate-looking Percy Weasley. "There you are." he walked right up to them, "You can't just go wandering around the castle. First years are to be escorted for the whole first week." he obviously expected an apology. Harry had no intention on delivering.

"I really don't see what the problem is. We already walked this particular path yesterday." Harry looked around, "Take a left when leaving the common room, second corridor to the right and forward to the grand staircase. Go down to the ground floor, straight ahead as you step off the stairs, left on the first corridor followed by right on the second. Takes you to right outside those doors." he pointed to the large oak doors leading to the entrance hall. "Simple." It was only when he stopped that Harry noticed the dumbfounded expression on everyone's face.

"Harry," Hermione quietly broke the silence, "You remembered that just from the one time yesterday?"

He shrugged, "I'm really good at navigating. Haven't gotten lost once in my life." he smiled. "Any way, shouldn't we get our books?" he turned to Hermione.

She shook her head to clear out the confusion and smiled, "Yeah. It was Potions and Transfiguration today, right?"

"Indeed." Harry smirked as the two begun to leave the Great hall, "Of course, I don't really need the books. Memorized all of them."

"Really?" Hermione smirked back, "Well then, you wont mind me checking?"

"Only if I can do the same." Harry smiled.

"Deal." was the last anyone in the hall heard.

* * *

When Severus Snape arrived at the corridor outside his Potions classroom he was expecting a common scene. The Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years already embracing the foolish rivalry between their houses. To his surprise they weren't glaring at each other. They all were looking at the two students standing besides the door to the classroom.

"Main use. Aconite." Harry Potter was facing the Granger girl... Hermione if he remembered Minerva correctly.

"Wolfsbane potion." Severus rose an eyebrow, that was not something he expected a first-year to know. "Number one brewing mistake." Hermione calmly answered with a challenge.

"Not cleaning the tools properly." Harry sounded almost... bored. In fact, both of them did. "General purpose antivenom." Severus suddenly got the feeling they have been doing this for quite some time now.

"Bezoar. Common mistake. Porcupine quills." Yes, definitely.

"Not taking the cauldron off the fire." Before Harry could continue with yet another challenge Severus stepped in and cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "Oh, hello professor."

Taking a moment to look at the two Severus weighed the risks of attempting to use low-level legilimancy to figure Harry Potter out. Remembering the headache he had gotten off of Lily he decided against it. Opening the door to the the classroom with a wave of his wand he turned to the rest of the first-years, "Get in before I start taking points for being late." He smiled to himself as the firsties scrambled to not incur his wrath.

Walking to the front of the class he quickly took in the fact that Potter and Granger had taken the front-most position. Using his patented 'glare nr. 4' to sweep across the students he quickly estimated who would be most trouble and who would be most prone to stupid mistakes. Making a note on Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Longbottom and Weasley he finally addressed the class. "The first thing you need to know is that brewing potions isn't for everybody. It takes skill," he glanced at Crabbe and Goyle, "and patience," Weasley this time, "in great amounts, but for those few with the aptitude to succeed potions can do almost anything. Distil fame, bottle glory, even put a stopper to death." he paused for the dramatic effect. "That being said, there will be no messing around in this room. Any breach of the safety rules will be punished... severely." another pause. "To give you an idea of how dangerous this subject is, almost half of all injuries first year students suffer happen in here." a few gasps, "I will have you know that during the time of my predecessor it was over two-thirds." another sweep over the room, it was obvious Draco though he could get away with making trouble in here. _'Will have to knock that impression out of him.'_ "Now, during the Monday lessons we will discuss a potion, the ingredients that make it up, how they are prepared and how the actual potion is brewed. We will go over the common mistakes when making it and how to avoid them. Every week your homework will be an essay on the potion of the week. That will make up half of your grade. The other half will come from the actual brewing of the potion done during the Friday class." He paused, "Any questions?" Nobody moved. "Good. The potion for this week is the cure boils potion."

* * *

As it was normal, the teaching staff met after dinner of the first school-day. The one thing every teacher was interested in were the new first-years. That was true every year, but especially so this one, after all, Harry Potter was one of the first-years. "Oh come on, you two must have _something_ to say." Filius Flitwick almost whined. He would meet the class tomorrow but his curiosity was burning.

Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall exchanged an amused glance. They knew that if they hadn't had the classes with the first-years, they would be just as curious. "The first-years were... adequate." Snape finally conceded.

"Adequate? That is high praise coming from you." Pomona chuckled.

"I do suspect that the Gryffindor-Slytherin class was far too distracted by the performance Potter and Granger put up before I got there." Severus smiled, "It is too early to tell for sure, but I suspect they might even break my record." That caused a pause in everyone. Severus all but admitting they might be better than he was? Impossible.

"I agree with Severus. We might have a very unusual situation on our hands soon." Minerva agreeing with Severus... What was the world coming to. "By the way, Filius," she turned to the diminutive professor, "Try to have a good look at Mr. Potters wand-work tomorrow. I think you will be impressed." she smiled and refused to elaborate.

* * *

Harry Potter laid is his n... uhh... bed, thinking about his first day at Hogwarts. Hermione had managed to beat him in Potions, well she got to answer more questions than him, but Harry was sure that he got asked the harder ones... Transfiguration though was where he unquestionably won. Apparently the method he had devised to perform the required magic was what they would learn in much later years. The professor had been impressed that Harry had come up with the idea on his own. The two has spent much of the remaining day in the Library, both doing their Potions homework (that both of them found incredibly easy), helping Neville do his, as well as convincing him to write home about his wand and, in the case of Harry, researching magical creatures. Harry already knew that trying to find out _what_ he was would take some time. He would have liked to bring Hermione into this but it was one thing he was rather paranoid about. Finally the two had spent much of the evening just chatting in the common room about favourite books and subjects back at non-magical school.

When they went to their respective dorms, Harry was not entirely surprised to hear Ronald complaining about the 'homework' they had been given today. For just a moment he wanted to boast that both he and Neville had already finished it but then he recognized the behaviour. Dudley had behaved in much the same way. Harry had no doubt that bringing up his academic abilities would lead to the redhead hounding him for 'homework help'. Without any comment he changed and after closing the curtains around his bed he curled up to try and sleep. That had been almost half an hour ago. Finally the noise level outside dropped and the night once more claimed him.

Harry had expected another dreamless night. He did not expect to wake up in the middle of the night with the fading memories of a most... unusual dream.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.] I won't say I am completely happy with this chapter. But it is acceptable and keeps the story going. I did try to make the Halloween scene a bit darker but I am not sure if I succeeded, input will be appreciated. Oh, and I should note right now that this is _NOT_ an Evil!Dumbles story. Negligent, arrogant, senile; sure. Evil? No.

On with the story!

* * *

Harry was laying down at the top of the Astronomy Tower, deep in thought. It was one of the places Dora had shown him... well, him and Hermione, during the 'what's where' tour of Hogwarts she had given the two Gryffindors. Only a few hours ago he had been in the Potions classroom, finishing what professor Snape claimed was the best first-time potion he had ever seen.

In his first week Harry had already came to several conclusions. For one, in History of Magic they _didn't have a teacher_. The ghost 'teaching' the subject was endlessly spouting the same material about Goblin uprisings. According to the older students, the material was the same for all seven years. Harry had exhausted that particular topic before coming to Hogwarts. After a whole evening of discussion Hermione had accepted that History was one subject where the teacher was useless and they had to self-study.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was another subject Harry was certain he would have to convince Hermione to self-study. The teacher there was at least alive, for all the good that did. The man seemed terrified of his own shadow and his stuttering made it almost impossible to understand him. Still, Harry had enjoyed the subject itself and was looking forward to learning more.

Charms had been... fun. Harry had noticed that the teacher, professor Flitwick, was paying extra attention to him during their first lesson. He didn't really care. He still got the spell to work. From what he had read both in the schoolbooks and other texts he had bought Charms was one of the most diverse fields of magic. And one both he and Hermione were eager to explore.

Herbology... was the only place where the 'dynamic duo' were bested. Given that it was Neville who was doing the besting both Harry and Hermione considered it quite sufficient to know they were close seconds. The shy boy was rapidly coming out of his shell, especially after their Head of House, professor McGonagall, took him to Diagon right after their classes ended on Tuesday. When he returned he brought with him both a brand-new wand, one that was properly fitted to him, and a story of how his Gran had been 'chewed out' by Olliwander and McGonagall. _Professor_ McGonagall, Harry corrected in his mind. Hermione had begun to ease up but was still very much 'trust unless proven otherwise' when it came to the staff of Hogwarts. Harry believed everyone was entitled to their own opinions.

Hermione... There was just... _something_ about that girl. He had spent less than a week of classes with her and yet he already felt a stronger connection to her than with anyone he had ever know in his life. It was strange, unexpected and certainly something Harry had to include in his day-to-day plans. He had taken considerable pains to avoid revealing his research into his... well... species to anyone, and, at least for now, it would have to include Hermione.

Harry would never know this, but it was here, at the top of the tallest tower of Hogwarts, while his thoughts were focused on a certain bushy-haired bookworm that the first manifestation of his true nature happened. It was for just a moment, and nobody saw it, but for just that tiny moment his eyes changed. For just one moment... but it was enough.

* * *

The second week begun with a... buzz. The flying lessons had the attention of all first-years. Some seemed to treat it as just another subject. Some were exited, others, worried. Malfoy and Weasley spent the entire morning in what basically amounted to a boasting competition. How they managed to avoid coming to blows would forever remain a mystery. Harry broke his gaze from the two boys who had gotten so involved in the discussion about brooms they seemed to have forgotten that they hate each other and took in the sight on his other side. When the announcement appeared in the common room Hermione had all but ran to the library in search of a book to help her prepare. All she had found was a book about Quiddich. That she was now reading for the fourth time. Deciding to finally stop the insanity Harry closed the book on her.

"You need to eat something." he smiled at her.

If anyone else had dared to stop her they might be facing a furious Hermione Granger, but this was Harry. "I know... But I have to prepare..." she argued even as Harry replaced the book in front of her with a dish.

"Hermione, do you know how to ride a bike?" Harry paused in his own meal.

"Well, yes." the question seemed random to her.

Harry smirked, "And what book did you learn it from?"

"Uhh... Well... I..." she stammered while a faint blush spread over her face. "I just learned it." she certainly felt awkward.

Harry chuckled at that, "This is pretty much the same. Hermione..." he leaned closer, "You know how much I love learning new things." she smiled at that, well aware of the time the two of them spent reading, "And yet, the most important lesson I ever learned..." he paused, noticing the gleam in her eyes, "is that some things you can't learn from a book." he sat back and continued his meal, seemingly not noticing the thoughtful gaze she sent his way.

Quite a few hours later the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years _'Really? It's like the teachers want there to be trouble.'_ had gathered at the Quiddich pitch. Malfoy and Weasley were back to normal, meaning they were glaring at each other. Hermione was doing her best to stay calm. Harry was doing his best to calm Neville. None of the first years saw the tabby cat observing them from under the stands.

"What are you all standing around for? Line up!" Madam Hooch, their instructor, seemingly emerged from nowhere, her no-nonsense attitude evident in her voice. As the two groups lined up to the obviously old brooms she instructed them to command them. Harry calmly put his arm forward and ordered the broom to rise in much the same way he would order a snake. He was one of the few who got the result and his was by far the best.

"How did you do that?" Hermione had managed to only make the broom to move a bit.

He looked at her with momentary confusion, "I told the broom what to do."

"So did I." she countered. Both failed to notice that several more students and the teacher herself were turning to listen.

"No. You _asked_. Don't ask, tell; order it to obey." Harry paused, still not noticing the silence around them, "reach out your hand," she did, "Now tell it what it will do. Don't ask, don't demand, brooms don't get the option to disobey. So tell it what to do." he spoke calmly yet there was a definite undertone of power. Hermione ignored the shiver it sent down her spine and... told the broom to rise. Calmly and with no twitches or extra moments of any kind it rose to her palm.

"Very good miss Granger." the voice of madam Hooch startled the two, drawing to their attention that the entire class had been watching them, "And mister Potter, that was a very... interesting approach to commanding a broom. But obviously effective." she nodded "Well what are the rest of you waiting for?" a little while later everyone had managed to summon their brooms. Neville had used the same method Harry did and succeeded on his first try. Indeed, most of of the class had.

Finally they got in the air. After five minutes of merely floating they were given some time to fly around.

Seeing that Hermione and Neville were quite fine on their own Harry moved a bit further out and did something no sane person would. He flew with his eyes closed. Slowing his breathing he started to speed up, as he did so he begun to... sense, for lack of a better word, the flow of air. He noticed the wind shifting and moved with it. As he slowly reached out further with this new sense he... felt the wind breaking against the others and the stands of the Quiddich pitch, the warm air rising from the lake... He had not noticed that he had levelled with the broom and was flying several times faster than anyone else.

Minerva was impressed. It seemed that young Harry was as talented a flyer as his parents. She hoped he would be wiling to try out for the house team next year. At that moment she noticed the two troublemakers she had intended to keep an eye on, namely Draco Malfoy and Ronald Weasley, racing. That by itself wouldn't be bad, if they weren't about to fly right into the larger group.

The sudden yells broke Harry from his reverie. At this distance nobody noticed his slitted eyes following to the two reckless fools as they almost unseated one of the students. The next one, a blonde girl in Slytherin robes was not so lucky. She had barely begun to scream when Harry was already in a dive, instinctively moving not to where she _was_ but to the where she _will_ be.

The whole scene lasted less than ten seconds but for both teachers present it seemed like eternity; watching mister Potter... no Harry, Minerva decided, dive right through the other students and grab miss Greengrass before she was even halfway to the ground. As he landed with the obviously scared girl hanging onto him Minerva McGonagall was marching onto the field in full 'angry Scott' mode. "Weasley, Malfoy, get down here right now!" she didn't need any spell to make her voice heard in Hogsmeade. As the two kids slowly landed, both with eyes wide in terror, she turned to face Harry, speaking in a much softer voice, "Mister Potter. That was some good flying. And..." she looked to the still scared girl, "fifty points to Gryffindor for helping a fellow student." At that she walked up to where the two boys responsible for this mess had landed and after giving them a tirade about irresponsibility and endangering other students assigned them a week of detention with Filch, the school caretaker. _'Maybe a week of scrubbing toilets will help them think twice.'_ She allowed herself a small smile as she watched miss Granger coax miss Greengrass to let go of Harry. Maybe something good will come out of this.

* * *

Severus had not been this amused since that time James Potter gave a right chewing out to Black for the Shack Incident. When his godson had came to him complaining about 'unfair detentions' he made sure to check the facts before doing anything. A quick legilimancy probe and a conversation with miss Greengrass later Draco spent another week in detention with him, cleaning cauldrons and sorting potion ingredients. When Lucius came to him demanding an explanation to the letter he had received from his son, Severus had calmly explained that Draco had almost killed the oldest daughter of Matthew Greengrass, the owner of the largest potion ingredient supplier in Britain and someone Lucius had been trying to bring into 'The Cause' for quite some time. Suffice to say that he was not amused. And that brought the potions master back to present. Four upper-year Slytherins had shown up in the medical wing with broken arms and no explanation on how that happened. Given their... parentage and the fact that another student had joined the study group organized by Potter and Granger, Severus had a good guess what had happened. He wasn't that surprised Harry might have taken the four upper-years down a peg. Lily would be much the same when she was angered by something. Or, as it was likely in this case, _some-ones_. Nobody would ever find out where those fifty points to Gryffindor came from.

Minerva was surprised, and pleased if she was honest with herself, by how well Harry Potter was getting along with the other students. She knew that her evaluation of the 'family' Albus had left him with had been right and it was a miracle that he was so well-adjusted. And while she couldn't go against him, she was secretly pleased by how annoyed Albus looked whenever he noticed Harry chatting with his friends. The boy was a good influence. Mister Longbottom had seemed so shy when she saw him last summer, a far cry from the boy chatting with young miss Bones about... something. Minerva had not expected that the incident during the first flying lesson would lead to an inter-house study group being started. She was pleasantly surprised when she found the four first-years huddled together in the library, working on their homework. And just last week miss Bones joined them. If it had anything to do with those four Slytherin boys spending a weekend regrowing the bones in their arms... she didn't really care.

Albus Dumbledore was not happy. Harry Potter was far too independent, far too... uncontrollable. The whole point of leaving him with Lily's sister was to make him malleable, eager to please, happy to be 'rescued' from his relatives. This... this boy he was faced with was none of that. Even worse, he couldn't use his immense skill in legilimancy to find out what went wrong. Every time he tried he ended up with a splitting headache. That boy had the most powerful natural defences Albus had ever seen. And now he was starting to make friends in other houses. How could he, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the greatest wizard since Merlin, the defeater of Grindelwald, the champion of Light, guide Harry Potter to his destiny if the foolish child refused to be led. There were plans to be made...

To... Lord Voldemort was fascinated. He had known Harry Potter would be at Hogwarts this year. He actually had been curious to see what kind of person the child credited with his 'defeat' was. He had actually brought the subject up in one of his recent classes, just to see how the boy would react. He was genuinely surprised when Harry had recounted the events of the night almost exactly as they had happened. As Halloween approached he noticed that the Potter heir was already starting to gather followers around him. Granger might be a mudblood but there was no denying her intelligence. Longbottom had been so shy and closed off Potter was free to mould him into a weapon with absolute loyalty. Greengrass was the heir to one of the most influential businesses in Britain and already owed him a life debt. And Bones was the niece and only remaining family of the head of the DMLE, the only weakness of Amelia Bones. If Potter could gather such followers merely two months into his first year of Hogwarts... Plans had to be made, this could not be allowed to continue.

* * *

October 31, Halloween, was finally here. Most of the school was looking forward to the feast, for one reason or another. But, to Harry Potter it was a day of sorrow. He spent the entire day in a daze barely succeeding in class and not even pretending to eat during dinner, Everyone who saw him immediately noticed the difference but nobody commented on it. Those who knew left him be and those who didn't were deflected by his friends. Finally, as the last class of the day ended Hermione decided to talk to Harry about... well... _the_ Halloween. Following him as he wandered the castle she half-expected him to drive her away. He never once acknowledged her being there. Almost a full hour later Harry entered an abandoned classroom on the second floor. When Hermione followed him in she saw him looking out the window. "Why?" he spoke in a near-whisper.

"What?" Hermione was confused by the question.

"Why did you follow me?" there was no accusation or anger in his voice. It was hollow and... _wrong_.

Hermione opened her mouth to answer and... paused. Why _did_ she follow him? It took her a minute to wok it out. "Because I'm your friend." she spoke in a near-whisper, almost as if afraid of his reaction. "I mean, I can't even begin to imagine how it must..."

"No, you can't." Harry's cold voice interrupted Hermione's thoughts. "You really can't. And I hope you never will." he leaned against a table, Hermione next to him. They spent quite some time in silence before Harry broke it once more. "I think it is an after-effect from all the magic going around that evening, but..." he shuddered, "every Halloween, whenever I close my eyes I see them." he paused, "I see it all as if it was happening just now." He closed his eyes before beginning to speak in a monotonous voice, "I wake up and see her leaning over me. She is crying, saying something I can never remember. She heard something and stands between the door and my crib. I am curious and peek around the side. The door explodes inwards. _He_ is there. He says something, I think my mum responded because he pauses before speaking again. He raises his wand. A green cloud leaves it and hits her. There is an explosion. The next thing I know I am at the Dursleys." As he opened his eyes he instantly noticed the brown-haired body trying to hug the life out of him. He also noticed the quite sobs of Hermione crying into his chest. Slowly he returned the hug, the two standing there in near-silence.

Finally, several minutes later, Hermione recovered enough to speak. "I... I didn't think it was like... like.. _that_. H... oh, Harry, I am so sorry!" she collapsed back into sobs. Because of that she didn't see the lone tear that rolled down his cheek.

"Nobody has ever said that to me before." his voice had become much softer. He slowly moved them so he could look Hermione in the eyes, "Thank you." To her total surprise he then leaned in and kissed her cheek.

Before Hermione could recover from the shock they were startled by a loud clang outside the classroom. "What the..." Harry left Hermione leaning against the table as he walked to the doors. "I swear, if those twins are..." Harry never got to finish his threat because just as he reached to open the door something smashed into it from the other side, completely destroying the door and sending Harry flying across the room where he impacted the wall with a loud crack.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_ Yes, I am that evil.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.] Another one! *smashes keyboard* Uhh... Sorry, wrong universe. Anyway... My free time is clearing up, finally (I blame Xcom) and I have gotten back into writing for more than 20-30 minutes at one time. On reader-end you should see no real difference, but on my end it will now be possible to actually have a buffer. As usual, reviews are highly appreciated.

On with the story!

* * *

 _May this power keep you safe._

* * *

Everything hurt. Some part of Harry's mind acknowledged that given what had just happened it _should_ hurt. Another part was surprised he was not dead. Most of his mind however had only one thought; _'What the hell just happened?'_ Before he could get even one theory off the ground he heard another loud crash, this one far, far closer. The scream accompanying it caused a reaction in Harry, his magic recognizing something his conscious mind had not and within moments Harry was fully awake, his magic and mind enraged by the sight before him.

* * *

Hermione wasn't scared. No, no... she was way past scared. In fact she was so far beyond terrified that she didn't know if there even was a name for it. Why was she is such a state? Just moments ago her first, best friend had short-circuited her brain by kissing her. Sure, it was just a peck on the cheek, but still. Before she could do anything, they were interrupted by a noise outside the room they were in. And just as Harry was about to open the door something smashed it and sent him flying across the room, almost out the window in fact. That 'something' then revealed itself to be a giant 12 foot tall troll. That had most likely just killed Harry. And was now coming after her. So yes, Hermione certainly had a reason to not be _merely_ terrified.

While most of her usually-hyperactive mind had locked up by the shock of the situation, a small portion of it noticed that Harry was still moving, he was still alive. That single thought was enough to reboot her mind and get her moving. A scream escaped her as she barely avoided being hit by one of the tables the troll was smashing through. There was only one thing she had to do, get Harry to the medical wing. But then Hermione remembered that trolls were quite fast and there was no way she could outrun one, far less if she was dragging Harry with her.

Another table shattered against the wall behind her, this one close enough for some shrapnel to hit her back and cause her to stumble and fall down. Hermione grabbed her wand, that had fallen out of her pocket, and ran further away from the ever-approaching _thing_. Her wand! She wanted to smack herself, there _had_ to be some spell to help her. There were, Hermione had read about quite a few combat spells that they wouldn't learn until several years later, but she had never tried them. And this was not the right time to try something she had no idea would work. Besides, hadn't she read that trolls have incredible resistance to spells? Second only to dragons?

The troll might not have been the smartest creature to begin with, but there was little difficulty in hitting a target that didn't even bother to move. Hermione had been so focused on what spell she could use that she missed that the troll was almost in front of her. Fortunately for her she did notice at the last moment and dove out of the way of the club about to fall onto her. She didn't even notice her terror-filled scream. She did notice the troll lifting its club for another strike.

* * *

Hermione was on the ground, seemingly frozen in terror as the troll that had attacked him lifted its club. Harry had no idea what drove him at that moment, beyond sheer bestial fury that is. He didn't see his eyes shift. He didn't feel his magic flooding the room. He didn't notice the stone cracking under his feet. He didn't know the flow of his magic had moved much of the dust filling the air into an illusion of wings behind him. He didn't care that there should be no way for an 11 year old boy to slam into a troll many times his size with enough force to knock the thing down. All of it happened regardless.

* * *

Hermione's mind had shut down. There was only one thought going through it, she was about to die. Time seemed to slow down as she watched the giant creature lift its club for what she was sure would be the last thing she would see. The wave of magic washing over her was a surprise. It was a wave of pure fury, anger and rage. And, for some inexplicable reason, it made her feel... safe. Glancing past the creature in front of her she suddenly noticed that Harry was on his feet, glaring at the troll. It was _his_ magic that was filling her with comfort, calm. The troll though... The troll looked like it had just realized it was not the biggest or most dangerous thing present. Hermione thought that Harry might perform some destructive magic or the like, she certainly didn't expect him to charge at the thing. And, as she rolled out of the way, she definitely hadn't expected the mountain of flesh to get toppled by the impact. And she _absolutely_ didn't expect Harry to climb to its face and smash it in with a single strike. (She did remember reading that trolls had very thick skulls, literally.) As the magic flowing from him dissipated, Harry turned to face her, "Are you alright?" His voice was calm, with a definite undertone of something... Something.

Hermione was about to answer that she was when pain finally overwhelmed adrenaline and made itself known. Collapsing with a cry of pain she grabbed her shoulder, where a piece of wood from one of the tables had embedded itself. Faster than she could blink, Harry was at her side, helping her stand. It was at that moment when she finally got a good look at his eyes, bright green... slitted... eyes. And in front of her, as she kept looking at them, into them, his eyes changed until she was looking at a pair of completely human eyes.

Harry was already leading her towards what used to be the door when loud footsteps echoed in the hall. To her surprise Harry drew his wand, and, to her own private surprise, she joined him in pointing them at the hole in the wall. When moments later the sounds revealed several teachers Harry visibly relaxed. On the other side the three teachers, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape, either tensed up or paled at the sight of the nearly-destroyed classroom and the two blood-covered children standing in the middle of it. And then they noticed the troll.

* * *

When neither Harry Potter nor Hermione Granger had appeared for the Halloween feast Severus Snape hadn't been particularly surprised. Indeed, he himself had been planning to have a drink in memory of his friends, he could hardly imagine what this must be like for the boy-who-lost-it-all. At least he wasn't alone as, according to Longbottom, young miss Granger had gone with him. Still, he had come to the decision to reach out to the boy... somehow. His ongoing cover made it quite difficult.

Not five minutes into the feast however, chaos broke out after Quirrell rushed into the hall, screaming about a troll in the dungeons. Albus, being the senile old fool that he is, then ordered all the students to their common rooms. Despite the fact that, well, half the students had their common rooms _in_ the dungeons. Sometimes he really wanted to punch the old goat. Oh well, at least he knew his prefects, indeed most of his upper-years, had the skills to take down a troll, if it came to it.

Moments later he, Minerva and Filius had just left the Great Hall when the ever-sharp ears of their resident cat animagus picked up loud crashes shortly followed by screams. There were only two students not accounted for and all staff had been at the hall. There was no doubt who the trio were running towards. Even so that knowledge did not prepare him for the sight that greeted them.

While Potter looked uninjured, despite his clothes being torn, even with some pieces of wood and masonry still stuck in them, Granger was obviously struggling to stay upright. In fact, he was somewhat impressed by how easily Potter was keeping her upright. As he took in the sight he was suddenly reminded of another, scarily similar event. After a quick Thank You to Merlin for the castle still being in one piece he turned to his two colleagues, "They obviously need medical attention. Take them, I'll clean up here." he nodded toward the cracks in the walls and the floor, knowing that Minerva will understand his meaning.

She indeed did, "Right. Filius, inform the headmaster that the troll is dealt with. Severus," she paused, looking at her two young lions, "I think we will need your... _expertise_ , in the hospital wing once you are done here." receiving a nod that he understood her meaning, she led her two students away, Filius already having left to the great hall, where Albus was 'organizing the search'.

It didn't take long for Severus to deduct what had happened. He had already believed young Harry was very much like his mother, now he knew that he was in all likelihood exactly the same. And, if he had read the situation correct, something he hasn't failed in for years, his magic had recognized... well, _her_. That was one thing he will probably need Minerva's help with. There was a reason he didn't have children, and it wasn't his job.

* * *

As Minerva guided the two to the domain of her old friend Poppy Pomfrey she was both surprised and amused by their behaviour. Harry was obviously concerned over miss Granger, that piece of wood in her shoulder did look nasty, but it was nothing Poppy couldn't fix. What surprised her was that miss Granger seemed far too concerned for her friend, given that it was her that was injured. The cracked stone back there and the state of Harry's clothes told their own story. One she had no doubt the two would not be eager to share. It was only when they had almost arrived at the hospital wing that she noticed that Harry was holding onto miss Granger as much as she was to him. She hoped that Severus would have some answers when he got here.

Moments after they crossed the threshold into the infirmary proper Poppy was already rushing out, taking only a moment to take in the situation before directing the two to beds. That was not made easy by the fact that the two outright refused to let go of each other. A quick glare to Poppy saw her move the beds closer together, so they could hold hands over the gap.

Poppy had finished her examination by the time Severus arrived. Miss Granger would need to spend the night there as the tissue damage was severe but localized, nothing a few spells and a night spent filled with potions couldn't fix. Harry was merely magically exhausted and in need of a good meal and a nights sleep. Minerva was considering whether to allow Harry to remain for the night when Severus, followed by Filius arrived. Minerva was half-surprised Albus wasn't there.

The two had barely stopped by the beds when Severus pulled his wand and begun to set up an array of privacy and secrecy wards, his wand moving with the ease of an expert. "Paranoid much?" Filius smirked at his colleague.

"Comes with the job." Severus grunted, putting his wand away and turning to the two kids, "Listen carefully, for this is what happened; the two of you were in the classroom, talking or whatever _decent_ thing you were doing," the two first years blushed at the emphasis, Minerva was certain Severus was having fun at that, "when the troll broke through door. A bunch of the debris hit you mr Potter while you two were running away from it. One of the tables or chairs that were being thrown around by the troll hit close enough to you both that miss Granger took that wound," he gestured to Hermione's shoulder, "At that point you mr Potter experienced a powerful burst of accidental magic that sent one of the tables directly at the troll with enough force to kill it." he took a moment to look at the kids, both of them wide-eyed in surprise, "As far as your fellow students are concerned, _that_ is what happened. Do you understand?" After receiving two nods he relaxed a bit, "Well then. Now that we have the official story done with, perhaps you two might tell us what actually happened?" He finished in a voice that was much softer and... nicer that the two first-years had ever heard.

After taking a moment to gather his thoughts and, if he was honest with himself, courage, Harry begun speaking, about why he had been in such a poor state all day before, how they ended up in that classroom and how he had gone to investigate the noise outside. At that point he stopped.

The three teachers were silent for quite some time, before Severus broke it, "I see. Am I right in assuming that you woke up to miss Granger being attacked by the troll?" The look on Harry's face was all the answer he needed. "I see." he drawled, already contemplating the long-term implications of the situation. "What happened then?" he already had a good idea but wanted confirmation.

"I... don't know, exactly." Harry answered after a moment, "I just... reacted. I... I don't know how to describe it." he shrugged.

"Nothing else mattered. There was the threat, the enemy. I didn't care it could kill me, I just charged right in." Severus muttered, as if remembering some past conversation.

"Sir?" Hermione looked at him in confusion.

"Oh..." he turned a sad smile to Harry, "Just something your mother said to me once."

"You knew my mum!?" Harry exclaimed before his more logical side could stop him.

Minerva chuckled at that, "Lily was a close friend of ours. But..." she sighed, "I'm afraid she never told us that what you have been looking for." The sadness that immediately took over Harry's face was painful to the aged woman, "But there are plenty of things we can tell you about. Your parents, their friends, the endless headaches they caused me..." she smiled at that. Damn she missed them.

"Your mother was the brightest student I have ever taught." Filius piped in, "Although..." he smiled at them, "that statement might not be true for much longer." The not-so-hidden praise had both of them blush.

At that point Pomfrey returned with two plates with food and a set of potions for Hermione. Bidding a good night and getting Harry to agree to meet them later that weekend the three teachers left. As his was the closest, and by far the most secure one, they proceeded to Severus' office to discuss the situation further.

"So, what did you find?" The wards had barely sealed when Minerva was on him, Filius beside her.

Severus procured a bottle of fire-whiskey and three glasses before answering, "It's worse than we thought." he filled the glasses, "He is not a half-breed." he sat down and nursed his drink as the other two took theirs.

"You mean?" Filius looked positively worried.

"Yes. On top of that, the girl is his mate. And I pray to all the gods that nobody is stupid enough to try and kill her." he emptied the glass in one go.

"Would it be... like Lily?" Minerva shuddered at the memory.

Severus took a moment to consider. "No. It would probably make what Lily did seem positively tame." he refilled the three empty glasses. "I almost pity the bastard." he took a slow sip. "Almost."

* * *

The infirmary was dark and silent. Madam Pomfrey had gone to sleep, after setting up the appropriate alert wards, obviously. The only two patients she had at the moment appeared to have fallen asleep over an hour ago. She had been somewhat surprised by how quickly the wound miss Granger had was healing, but assumed that her magic must be speeding it along far more than was usual.

"Harry?" a whisper sounded in the darkness.

"Yes?" the answer was just as quiet.

"I'm curious." Hermione looked at where his eyes should be.

Harry smiled, not that anyone could see that, "Is there ever a time you aren't?" he joked.

"Prat." she huffed. "I saw your eyes." her voice turned had serious.

"My eyes? What about my eyes?" the confusion was clear in his voice.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I know you aren't human." she spoke in her 'talking to stupid people' voice. "So what are you?"

Hermione didn't see Harry tense up at her proclamation, "Hermione, what are you talking about?" his voice was well above whisper by now.

"Wait. You don't know?" she was surprised by that. "When you took down that troll. Your eyes... they were not human eyes, more like a snake or reptile of some kind." _'How could he not know? Wait...'_ A horrible feeling took hold inside her.

"Oh boy..." Harry sighed, "I did not know that. As to your question..." he paused... "I have next to no idea." he slumped down. Would she even want to be his friend now?

"What do you mean?" within her mind curiosity warred with concern and sadness.

Harry sighed, ' _I suppose I knew this would happen._ ' "I have pretty much always known I am not human. But my... relatives didn't know what I was, I had no memory about it and nothing to really go on." he sighed, "After my Hogwarts letter came I spent a lot of time and quite a bit of money studying every book about magical creatures I could. After coming here I have spent most of the time I wasn't with you researching that topic as well. I..." he hesitated, "I wasn't sure if I could trust you with this. I'm sorry." he stopped.

Hermione understood his desire for secrecy, he was probably scared, maybe even ashamed, she certainly would be, "I understand. And you haven't found anything?"

She didn't see the sad smile on his face, "Not nothing. There are a few creatures with similar characteristics but most of those can't look like a human. And those few that can are all-female." he shrugged in the darkness, "So..." he trailed off.

"And the teachers did just tell you they don't know either." Hermione nodded. "Well... In that case..." she paused at the imaginary precipice, she had made her decision already but it still seemed so... strange. Just a few months ago she was only worried about her upcoming exams. Now she was in a magical school, having just survived an attack by a troll and was about to offer to help her first friend in finding out what _species_ he is. And Hermione had the feeling her life would only get stranger. "I'll just have to help you look." she finally finished.

Neither of them noticed Poppy returning to her office/apartment, a slight smile on her face.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.] Challenge not Murphy for he is a vengeful son of a [female canine specimen]. I got completely stuck on this chapter. The second half to be exact. Now, don't panic, the story is not dead. In fact I have quite a lot of material for later chapters. Just have to get there...

Anyway. Fun fact, when I begun this story I didn't intend for it to be a Good!Snape story. It just happened. Also, for those of you who might think things are progressing a bit too fast, my story, my pacing. Also, I need to lay some groundwork for later events and stuff. As much as I enjoy reading stories where Harry goes off the rails and wrecks all the manipulations in his life, I find it odd when people, important people even, trust and/or believe him when meeting him for the first time. But, that is just my opinion and everyone is entitled to his/her own.

Enough rambling, On with the story!

* * *

The 'Troll Incident' had a number of after-effects. For one, Harry and Hermione became even closer than before. With Harry no longer hiding his research into magical creatures from her, the duo became practically inseparable. Indeed, by the time Christmas holidays rolled around it was a Hogwarts Fact that whenever Harry Potter was somewhere, Hermione Granger was not far off and vice versa.

Another effect, though much more subtle, was the senior staff coming to the conclusion that Albus Dumbledore was no longer the man they once followed. The aged headmaster had shut down the investigation in how a troll could enter Hogwarts, it was especially worrying given that the school had specially designed wards to prevent dangerous creatures from wandering in. Between that and his unexplained interest in Harry's day-to-day activities a hidden rift was slowly forming in Hogwarts.

After a couple of weeks another change became obvious. Ever since the 'incident' with Susan Bones the more bigoted of Slytherins had kept their distance from Harry, quite aware of his dislike for their 'entertainment'. That had not prevented a few of the dumber (or braver) ones from using the rare occasions when Hermione was on her own to harass her. After the Halloween incident Severus Snape made sure his house was aware that the quickest way to face an angry Harry Potter was to harass his friends. A week later three Slytherin 7-th years spent a week in the hospital wing. In completely unrelated news there was a sudden influx of students to the study group organized by the two as well as a large decrease in the accidents suffered by non-Slytherins.

The study group kept growing. Harry was amused by its accidental creation. He had only meant to help Neville with some schoolwork. Then, after that mess of a flying lesson Daphne had decided join them when they studied in the library. Then Susan had tagged along after he had beaten up those four... idiots. Then the two girls brought in their friends. And now even more of their year joined in. In fact, short of Malfoy and Weasley, both of whom got banned after just one evening, almost the entire year was there. A few Slytherins, that had been nicknamed 'Malfoy's groupies' by Hermione (a nickname that would go to persist for years), and two particularly competitive Ravenclaws were the only first-years not participating in the study group by the end of first term. According to Minerva their year had the highest average marks in Hogwarts' records. Even Severus had begun to gently prod it to the 'groupies' that the study group was something they should consider joining.

By the end of November the school had seemingly forgotten all about the Troll, and Harry was quite content with that. He and Hermione had made quite some headway in researching some of the more obscure creatures, but despite her help they were nowhere near an answer.

On a completely different front, the meeting between Harry and the three teachers had been a complete success. Hermione had been fascinated to learn that their charms teacher was a former Duelling champion. And of course Hermione had gone with him, what part of inseparable you don't understand? The meeting and discussion had been so entertaining, both to the students and teachers, that it became a weekly thing, something they would do during the weekends. During these meeting Harry learned that his mother eventually had to learn Occlumency to control her temper. While Harry was far too young to face the problems she did, Severus did agree to tutor Harry in the basics of the mid arts. Hermione had been terrified to learn that it was possible to _read minds_ using magic and threw herself into mastering Occlumency. She had actually managed a basic shield by the end of term, enough to throw off a passive probe, and the teachers were impressed by how fast she had picked it up. Harry, because of his natural defences, had no need to work on that particular part but he still did, in hopes of gaining some insight into his nature. The process was slow.

Over the two months the duo spent quite some time learning spells that were either taught in later years or weren't in Hogwarts curriculum altogether. Hermione had been determined to never again be caught defenceless and Harry agreed with her fully. At their last meeting of the year Filius finally made the decision to offer them lessons in duelling, an offer that was instantly accepted.

* * *

"Are you sure it is a good idea?" Severus' office had become the go-to meeting place for any discussion involving Harry Potter.

Filius sighed, "Yes. I will be teaching them control, precision and, most of all, how to not get killed." he took a moment to look at his friends, "I think we all know just why _that_ is a good idea _._ " The two shudders answered for him.

"Fine. Topic closed." Severus finally relented. "Minerva, is Harry leaving for the holidays?" the three teachers and two students had begun to speak on a first-name basis while in private after the fourth 'get-together'.

"Sadly no." she sighed, "Albus is sure to try something if Harry stays. Then again, he has been quite distracted lately, whether because of Harry or the Stone, I don't know." she took a moment to consider. "I think I will be doing some modifications to that infernal chess set he had me set up." the other two nodded, intending to spend the downtime ensuring the stone was absolutely secure.

"There is one possibility for Harry not being here over the holidays." Filius suddenly remembered something, "Hermione asked me if a student had to go to their own home or if they could visit a friend." he smiled, "Obviously the rules permit such visits."

"If that does happen I will make sure to make no note of where Harry is spending the holiday. Albus might interfere otherwise." Minerva was quick to pick up on the idea.

"And it would be quite easy to ensure that Albus is distracted at the time when the students are leaving." Severus smiled, "It seems we have a plan then."

* * *

The Granger household had changed since the time a certain letter arrived. For one, seven months ago Emily Granger would have been terrified to find an owl perched outside the kitchen window. Today the sight brought a smile to her face instead. Oh sure, both she and Dan had been surprised when the snowy white owl arrived for the first time, a week after they had sent off their daughter to the magical boarding school. Evidently the boy they had met in the station, who really was _the_ Harry Potter, had allowed Hermione to send her letters with his post owl. And it... _she_ would wait for a response. That had been one crazy morning. Since then their bi-weekly correspondence had became the norm. The one thing that made both of her parents happy was that while a sizeable portion of the letters was about schoolwork, most of it was about her friends. Yes, plural. Finding out that their once-lonely daughter now had a group of friends that was slowly growing put to rest any doubts the two elder Grangers had about sending her to Hogwarts. Of course Dan was still unhappy with how much the letters would focus on Harry, after all, despite being his daughter's first and best friend, he was still a _boy_. The letter they had received after Halloween however was different. It mentioned no schoolwork, only that an 'incident' had happened and that while she now knew a lot more about her best friend, they were secrets that were not hers to share. That had certainly worried the two parents, what kind of secrets those could be, was it safe for Hermione to even be around the boy and what was this 'incident' that had happened? Her next letter had a note from Harry, saying that he would answer at least some of their questions the next time they met. Apparently this information was the kind you don't put on paper. Or parchment as it were.

A few days before Hermione was due to come home for the holidays Dan walked into the kitchen to see his wife sitting at the table with a frown while Hedwig was obviously waiting on her. "How bad is it?" his mind immediately begun to imagine all kinds of worst-case scenarios.

"She wants to invite him for the holidays." she shook her head. Dan didn't need any explanation on who _he_ was. "Apparently he doesn't get along with his relatives that well." she looked at him, "What do you think?" she passed him the letter.

Dan read the letter four times before he came to the conclusion that this was by far the worst thing possible, his little princess was smitten with the boy. And she wanted to bring him here. A part of him wanted to say no, hell, more like forbid that boy from ever coming near her... but... she certainly seemed happy. And then there was that promise the kid had made them, to explain things. With a heavy sight Daniel Granger went against every instinct he had, "Fine. He can come. Though it might be a bit awkward with the presents." he shrugged and passed the letter back.

Twenty minutes later Hedwig was making her way north once again.

* * *

After two months of having basically no secrets between them, Hermione had been surprised when Harry hid several letters he had been writing when she came down from her dorm. His explanation that they were his gift orders was enough to satisfy her curiosity about his sudden secrecy. Hermione had been equally surprised at the number but Harry explained that it was the first time he had people to give gifts to. She eventually got him to admit that his relatives didn't want him part of their celebrations. Two days later Hermione waited on Hedwig to return with an answer to the letter she had sent her parents.

"Harry, you know that Ron is the only other boy who is staying, right?" Hermione had been doing her best to delay Harry's decision until she got her answer.

"Yeah. But, as bad as he is, he is still better than..." Harry trailed off as Hedwig landed in front of Hermione with a letter. Today was not one of his 'meal days' and so he was free to witness the excitement appear on her face. "Good news?" he smiled.

"They said yes!" Fortunately for the two students a certain Headmaster was sleeping in and didn't hear the rather loud proclamation.

"About what?" Harry's confusion didn't last very long.

"Visiting." Hermione had no intention to give Harry an out, "You are not staying in this castle on your own."

"I wouldn't be on my own..." Harry was all set to argue, despite some small part of him really, _really_ wanting this.

"Harry," she looked at him with her _'really?'_ look, "Everyone else is going. As much as you deny it, teachers can't substitute for friends your age." _'I can't believe I just said that. I mean it's true, but...'_ In her inner shock/confusion Hermione didn't notice Harry losing control over his jaw.

Several moments later he sighed, "Well, I suppose there is only one thing I can do." Harry smiled at the wide-eyed look Hermione gave him, "I need to figure out what presents your parents would appreciate."

Neither of them noticed Minerva smiling at the Head table as she added 'Harry Potter' to the leaving list.

* * *

The morning the students were due to leave Albus Dumbledore found himself deep in the dungeons of the castle. Severus asked for his assistance with a particularity complicated phase of a special potion he was brewing. The potion, if successful, would work like polyjuice. With a duration of a whole day instead of an hour. When the two left the potions lab several hours later the Express had long since left, and Harry Potter with it.

Harry didn't know any of the conspiracy his teachers had set up to get him out of the castle. He didn't know that Minerva had stepped in for a while when Filch had begun to feel unwell standing by the doors, marking each student as they passed. He didn't know his trunk had received a special enchantment to make sure the castle elves would move it to the train. And he most certainly didn't know that every single tracking charm on his belongings collapsed the moment he crossed the wards of Hogwarts. All of it happened regardless.

The train ride was...interesting. For starters, after he and Hermione claimed a compartment they were quickly joined by Neville. In no time at all both Susan Bones and Daphne Greengrass, and their friends, Hannah Abbot and Tracy Davis, showed up. When Dora dropped by for a visit the compartment suddenly felt very small. The metamorphmagus decided to have some fun after her patrol and changed her appearance into a nondescript 11 year old girl in Hufflepuff robes. Dora was aware that the first years were surprisingly friendly with each other but she was shocked at how many came to visit them. In fact she was fairly sure it was almost all of them. Even a group of Slytherins had dropped by, Zabini, Nott and Bullstrode if she remembered correctly. They shared a warm greeting and didn't bat an eye at the two snakes already there. Shortly after they left Malfoy made an appearance.

The group was discussing their homework when the compartment door opened yet again. When harry turned to see who had come this time he immediately frowned. "Malfoy." his voice was completely level.

"Potter." he answered with a notable sneer. Looking over the rest of the compartment his eyes drifted over Dora and locked at the two girls in silver and green. "What are you doing with _this_ lot, Greengrass?" his... dislike for the others was quite evident is his voice.

The so-called Ice princess of Slytherin glared at him, "Discussing homework. Why, need some tips?" the rest of the group held back sniggers. It was well known that Malfoy was one of the worst students of the year.

Malfoy blinked, obviously holding back his anger, "I can't believe someone of your status would lower yourself to associate with blood traitors and mud..."

"Unless you intend to finally apologise for what happened at our first flying lesson, shut up and leave." her voice was cold to the extreme.

Malfoy seemed to snap, "I don't have to apologise for anything. When my father hears about..." he was interrupted yet again.

"Malfoy." everyone froze at the almost-growl, "The lady asked you to leave." Harry spoke in a low, calm voice that, together with his glare at the blonde idiot, made Malfoy feel very, very small. A few seconds passed, during which Malfoy remembered the horror stories told by Slytherin upper-years. He did the smart thing, surprisingly enough, and beat a hasty retreat. As everyone else turned to Harry, half scared themselves, he smiled. "Sorry about that, hit a nerve. Then again, had Daph not interrupted him, I might have just punched him." Hermione was suddenly reminded that Harry had also 'punched' the troll.

The talk picked back up a few moment later. They were not disturbed again. After arriving at Kings Cross and exiting the train Hermione was eager to find her parents. She also didn't want to leave Harry behind. The issue was made harder by several of their friends wanting their own parents to meet Harry. They met Matthew Greengrass, Daphne's father, who one again thanked him, as well as her sister, Astoria, who would be starting Hogwarts next year. They also met Amelia Bones, Susan's aunt and the head of the DMLE. Harry though she was the kind of no-nonsense person one would imagine being in charge of the police force. The met the Abbots, Davis and even Dora's parents. Looking at Andromeda (Andy) Tonks Harry couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. He though it might be from some forgotten memories, but it did feel... weird.

Finally, after saying goodbye to Neville's Gran, who was still impressed and grateful for the help the two had given her grandson, they reached Hermione's parents. The two didn't know it, but the elder Grangers had noticed them quite some time ago and were equally surprised and amused by the amount of people intercepting them along the way. Only the fact that their daughter kept smiling prevented them from stepping in. One thing Dan noticed before his little princess rushed at him what the the boy, Harry, was carrying both of their trunks. _Carrying._

Harry watched the reunion with a slight pang in his chest. It was one thing he would never experience; having his parents welcome him back. After a little over a minute Hermione seemed to remember about him and dragged him forth, "Mum, dad, you remember Harry." her voice was filled with excitement.

"That we do." Emily smiled at him.

"Yes. It seems you have made quite the... impression on our daughter." Dan tried to look intimidating. It failed miserably.

At that Harry smirked, "Sorry sir, we're not quite at that stage yet." As the three Grangers caught onto his meaning their reaction varied. Hermione was somewhere between shock and outrage, with a tiny part of her embarrassed for some reason. Dan was mortified, his brain locked up. Emily was shocked, right up until she noticed the oh-so-familiar look in Harry's eyes. She was the first to start laughing. That caused Harry to lose control and burst out laughing as well, followed closely by Hermione. Dan took a few more moments to understand he had just been pranked by the little bugger. Again.

"I think we will get along just fine, Harry." Emily finally calmer herself.

"There's two of them." Dan groaned and turned to Hermione, "Princess, some help here?" he pleaded.

"Sorry dad," Hermione answered in a manner she had learned from Daphne, "You're on your own there." That set off another round of laughter. Finally, almost a full half-hour after stepping off the train they left for the parking lot.

"Aren't they heavy?" Dan looked at the two trunks Harry was carrying.

"No. Filius... that is Professor Flitwick made some modifications to them." Harry answered him while looking around.

When Dan took the trunks to put them in the car he was shocked to discover they were almost weightless. He was once more impressed by magic and reminded that his daughter _did_ go to a school in what was, for all intents and purposes, a different world. After getting into the car he noticed that Harry seemed more interested in what was outside it than the inside. The boy was an enigma, one he intended to solve. Finally, they got on their way.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

Finally! So, between the block I hit on this story, trouble with my glasses and scrapping the chapter several times I finally, _finally_ finished it. My original idea was to have the 'Granger Christmas' take up one chapter, but with how long the whole thing became I chose to split it in two. That and I had a really good endpoint for the chapter. So, next time; the _actual_ Christmas episode (At the rate I am going it might just end up being a Christmas _Christmas_ episode *knocks on wood*). Anyway, Reviews are appreciated, and enjoy.

Note: I changed the ending of the last chapter a tiny bit to make sure it properly connected with this one. Nothing major, but still.

On with the story!

* * *

To anyone watching him it would appear that Harry was relaxed, simply enjoying the trip from King's Cross to Crawley. They would be mistaken. Even as his outward appearance maintained the illusion of calm his mind was working, memorising every turn and distance of the trip, referencing his knowledge of the regional maps and marking any notable landmarks to ease future travel. It was not even something he needed to focus on, it just happened in the background. Beyond that, Harry didn't speak during the trip simply because he was spending it figuring out the final details on _what_ to say. He had made several versions of the upcoming conversation, accounting for the different moods Hermione's parents might be in. They were worried, tense and a little bit scared, mildly curious and, fortunately, not angry. That would be version 4 of the initial conversation. After that, well, Harry did remember that saying, 'No plan survives contact with the enemy.' He didn't consider the Grangers as enemies, but the base concept stood true, you can't plan for the reactions of people you don't know. And so, as the car finally pulled intro the driveway, Harry had a pretty good idea of what to say to put himself into the best starting position possible.

Leaving the car he paused for a moment, taking in the house in front of him and, without even meaning to, comparing it and the general area with Privet Drive. They both were residential areas. Both had a lawn in front of the house. Both had a garage, though the Granger one was obviously meant for two cars. And that was it. The Granger house had three full floors and what seemed like expansive attic, if the roof windows were any indication. All of the houses Harry could see were superficially similar but each had a certain level of personality, The Granger residence was no exception. On the second floor of the souther corner the house had a set of large windows that Harry noticed a number of bookshelves through. He was not surprised the house had a library. Finally, after Hermione snapped him out of his focus by pulling him toward the door of the house, the four entered.

The Grangers had thought to get at least some information from the two kids, or at least a good read on Harry. To their surprise they arrived at their home with neither. Hermione had stubbornly refused to speak about the things she had excluded from her letters, or tell them anything about Harry. Said boy spent the entire trip seemingly taking in the sights, but Dan easily noticed the calculating look in his eyes. He had seen it plenty of times. Once they arrived Harry had seemed to 'phase out', standing still and only moving his head to look at things. The two parents had no idea what to do, but Hermione, after giving Harry a few moments, pulled him towards the house, seemingly snapping him out of whatever state he was in. Emily had a faint suspicion it was not the first time this had happened.

On the inside the house was... cosy. It was quite well-kept, but there was none of the enforced order present at Privet Drive, the house had a definite feel of being lived in. They had barely entered the house, still had their coats on in fact, when Dan turned to Harry, "I do believe you owe us some explanations young man." he spoke with all the authority his years in the military had given him.

"Dad..." Hermione moved to deflect him when, to the surprise of both elder Grangers, she stopped after Harry put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's fine, we have kept this from them long enough." he turned so both adults could see him, "Although, this might take a while, so if we could..." he shrugged and gestured to their clothes.

The two parents could only nod, their minds already running a variety of worst-case scenarios. Dan was of half-mind to just throw the kid out now, but the fact that his daughter had only worry on her face and not a bit of embarrassment stayed his hand. For now.

After getting out of their coats Hermione led them to the library. Emily was secretly impressed with her thinking. It was one of the rules of the house that the library was a 'quiet zone'. After sitting down the two adults could not miss that their daughter had sat opposite to them, next to Harry.

After a moment of silence Harry took a deep breath and spoke, "To begin with, you should know that nothing, well," he paused, "other than the 'incident', I suppose, that I have to tell you involves Hermione in any... meaningful way." Two pairs of eyes snapped to the the girl, and were surprised to see her agreeing. "I suppose I should get the big ones out of the way first." there was a considerable pause, it was obvious to Dan that the boy in front of him was evaluating the two of them. The military side of him was impressed. After a moment Harry continued, "From what Hermione tells me, you have read some things about me. You know that most of the wizarding world is convinced that I am responsible for the destruction of the last Dark Lord to run rampant in this country." Emily nodded, she had read as much in the books they got from Diagon, "Obviously they're mistaken." That was news, Hermione had never mentioned that particular detail in her letters, "The reason that I know this is part of what happened this Halloween." he paused again, "I remember that night. I... I _know_ that it was the death of my mother that destroyed him." Silence filled the library. It didn't take long for either of the two Grangers to understand the deeper implication of that statement. The boy before them _remembers_ his mother being killed in front of him. For a moment Emily wanted to jump up from the couch and hug the poor kid, then she noticed her daughter had put her own hand on his, and that it seemed to be enough. After several more minutes he finally continued, "As you can imagine that is not a particularly pleasant memory." he swallowed away the forming tears, "And every Halloween since that night I have been re-living the events." Em couldn't help the gasp that escaped her, something like that... she couldn't begin to imagine how horrible that must be. "This Halloween however Hermione was... helping." While Dan was suddenly worried what 'helping' meant, he did not dare to interrupt, it was obvious to him the boy was barely holding together as it was, "It was during that talk," both Grangers relaxed a tiny bit, "that the 'incident' Hermione wrote to you about happened." and then promptly tensed even more. "There was... an intruder in the castle. Because we were not at the great hall with the other students... Well, it sort of... stumbled upon us. I got knocked unconscious but managed to wake up before Hermione could be..." he paused again, "At any rate, that ugly bastard wont be hurting anything ever again." Harry was quite aware of the image he had painted and had a good guess where the thoughts of the two adults were going. He considered it to be the lesser of two evils, no need to traumatise them with the truth. At least not yet. "As you might imagine, Hermione was quite worried you might pull her from the school if you found out what had happened." his voice snapped the two adults from their thoughts.

"Damn right we would. In fact, why shouldn't we do it right now anyway?" Dan all but exploded, "We were told that Hogwarts was the safest place in Britain."

"And it in all likelihood is." Harry interrupted him. "The... intruder got into the school because of an old, long-forgotten flaw in the wards, the security system of the castle. A number of additional security measures have been added since to prevent anything like this ever happening again." Harry was lying through his teeth, but it calmed the two Grangers.

Emily was appeased by the fact that Hermione was ultimately safe and the school was taking measures. Dan knew that no security system was unbeatable and was appeased by the fact that the flaw was fixed. He was still mad that it was his daughter that had been in danger, but the logical part of his mind did remind him that ultimately, _someone_ would have been. And they might not have had someone to save them. With a sigh he sat back down, "I understand. I don't like it, I never will, but I understand." Neither parent missed the relived sigh of their daughter. Hermione had been worried about lying to her parents, but understood that if they knew the full truth nothing they could say or do, short of running away, could keep her in Hogwarts.

"Well, then. I suppose now is the time for the other big thing." Harry's voice pulled the attention of the adults back to him, "I asked Hermione to keep it a secret, and in fact, other than a few teachers who knew my mum, she is the only one who knows." That both worried and calmed them, if teachers knew whatever this secret was, it couldn't be so bad, right? Harry took another calming breath and spoke, "I am not a human." the silence lasted quite a while.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Dan sounded slightly irritated.

"No." Harry sighed, "It is a bit of an... odd story actually. I have known for pretty much my whole life that I am not a human. Humans can't live on having a single meal a month." The Grangers were surprised at the statement and worried at just how a child might discover something like that, "Humans can't lift things weighing as much or more than they do." he paused, "Well, not the _normal_ kind of humans anyway. And not without breaking a sweat." the claim seemed absurd, until Dan remembered the ease at which he had moved Hermione's trunk back at September 1st. He had forgotten about that little detail, distracted by the other events and... the evening activities after they got home. "And then there is the fact that I am far, far tougher than any human." Harry continued, "In fact, if I wasn't... well... The attack that hit me was strong enough to kill any human. It knocked me out for a few moments." Harry suddenly remembered that that was one detail he had intended to skip. He had to prevent the two adults from panicking. "Don't worry, I was fine by the time it was over, and... well... there was a reason I went to check on the door by myself." That calmed down the two parents somewhat. "At any rate, those are the bigger things I know about myself. The biggest, _what_ I am... I have been trying to find out. As far as I know the only one who knew, other than my mum, was my father." Harry paused again, taking a moment to gather himself, "After the 'incident' Hermione figured it out and has been helping me in both the research and keeping it a secret." Harry finally stopped, awaiting their reactions.

It took a while for the two parents to sort through everything they had heard. Their daughter was attacked while at school. She was safe and the previously-unknown method the attacker used to enter has been fixed since. The boy in front of them was not human, despite looking very much like one. And it was only because of his non-human nature that he survived the aforementioned attack. He also doesn't know _what species_ he actually is. Looking at their other halves, they both knew there was only one real choice in this.

"Harry," Dan's voice was the first real sound in over ten minutes, "As a father I must thank you for protecting our daughter. And I also thank you for your honesty," Harry managed to contain the wince at that, "I can't begin to imagine how hard this must be for you." he then glanced to Em before smiling at Harry, "I don't suppose you might be willing to drop us some hints on what you consider a good Christmas present?" and just like that, the ice was broken.

* * *

Later that evening Harry was preparing for the night when there was a knock on the door. Walking over he found Hermione, already in her pyjamas wanting to talk to him.

"Harry, are you sure we can't tell them?" they were whispering, so to not be overheard.

"You saw how badly they took this version. If they knew..." he didn't stop preparing his bed.

Hermione sighed, "I know. I just hope nothing like this happens again." she smirked, "I might have to learn how to lie otherwise." Both of them laughed at that. Then Hermione noticed the strange arrangement of pillows and blankets Harry was making on his bed, "Harry, are you making a nest?"

He looked down at the whole thing, "Maybe?" he shrugged, "I have never had enough stuff to actually make something like this, but I have always slept that way." he looked over to see Hermione scrounge her face in thought.

"Harry, after we get back we need to go over dragons one more time." she suddenly proclaimed.

"Why? We already checked those books. Doesn't match." Harry was confused, dragons was one of the first things they had checked.

"I know, but we were only looking at the still-living species. What if there was some supposedly-extinct variation we missed?" Hermione looked positively excited. "I mean, what if you were something like the last of some long lost species or something." It only took several moments before she understood what she had said. She jumped to hug him before beginning to apologize, "I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry, I didn't..." Harry held her as she calmed, understanding both what she had meant and calming his own pang of pain at the idea. Harry had no idea what he would do if he _did_ turn out to be the last of his kind. He hoped he would never have to find out.

After several more minutes Harry finally spoke, "Hermione?" the girl in question pulled back to look at him, her eyes slightly read from the crying, "I think you should go before your parents notice." Hermione blushed at the words but didn't object, once more apologizing and letting Harry guide her to the door. It was only after he was about to close the door that Hermione quickly leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, almost touching the corner of his lips. Then, like any brave Gryffindor, she fled back to her room. She didn't see the shocked look on Harry's face, or the grin that slowly grew in its place. Neither of the kids noticed the slight crack of the door of Hermione's parents bedroom.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore had spent several hours trying to find Harry Potter after the train left. It was only after he though to ask one of the castle elves to find him that he was informed that Harry was not in the castle; he had left for the holidays. Albus had been astounded at that, he was sure that Harry would not return to his relatives by choice. A quick check with Minerva had confirmed that Harry did indeed sign up to leave the castle. He had already moved the mirror into an unused classroom and put up a ward so only he and Harry could enter! Despite everything people said about him, he was not _that_ crazy, the mirror was dangerous, what if some kid stumbled upon it? He had planned to send Harry his fathers cloak _'Damn that oath!'_ with a few compulsion spells on it, enough to make sure Harry went wandering and 'stumbled' upon the mirror. But now... Albus decided that a few day delay would not ruin this particular plan. So what if he had to wait until after the holidays were over to move the damn thing, this was important! With that in mind, he begun setting up the spells on the black thread he would add to the cloak. That was the only way, the damn cloak was immune to any and all spells he had tried. He never noticed the sorrow-filled look his phoenix was giving him.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

And here is the second half of Granger Christmas. Not much more to say here, really. Oh well.

On with the story!

* * *

" _Did it work?"_

" _Yes. I... James, I can't even begin..."_

" _Lily, don't say that. I love you and I love Harry, no matter what either of you are. You know that."_

" _I do, James. I do... And I..."_

Harry woke with a start. His slitted eyes darted across the dark room, even as his mind focused on not forgetting the dream he just had. His parents... this was the first time he had ever dreamt of anything from before that night. This was the first time he _remembered_ anything from before that night. Even as most of him was joyful to have something, _anything_ else from that time, some part of him, that cold, emotionless logical side, was processing the memory-dream. What had worked? Something his mother had done? To him? The statement from his father all but confirmed that he knew what his mother was. Not that surprising given that they were married and had him. But... What had worked?

Harry took a quick warm shower and dressed for the day. After he left the guest room he heard voices coming from downstairs. He quickly followed them down to the kitchen. When he entered the room he saw that all the Grangers were already awake and present. He greeted them and moved to sit down. He was interrupted by the surprised gasp from Emily, who was now staring at his face. Dan immediately followed her gaze and froze himself. Hermione looked at him and sighed, "Eyes, Harry." her calm voice had both parents snap to look at her, only barely noticing Harry sigh himself and close his eyes for a moment.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you and forgot to look in the mirror before leaving the bathroom." Harry smiled sheepishly, his eyes once more 'normal'.

"Does that happen a lot?" Emily asked, her voice still holding some shock in it.

"Sometimes." Harry shrugged, "I figured out how to control it shortly after Halloween. Because I don't actually notice when they change I need to either look in a mirror or have someone tell me." he smiled, "Hermione must have saved me at least a dozen times already."

As they ate breakfast, Harry noticed that the two adults were paying attention to what he actually _ate_. Harry had never been a fan of vegetables, in any form. It wasn't that his body didn't 'agree' with eating them, he just really didn't like the taste. Meat and eggs, that was a different thing altogether. Hermione was convinced that his dietary preferences were because of his species, and it had been one of the major components in her research. Harry had been ignoring any creature that didn't eat meat from the beginning.

Neither Harry nor Hermione made any indication about what happened last night.

* * *

Several hours later the four were back in the car and off to buy a Christmas tree. According to the elder Grangers, it was their tradition that Hermione chose the tree they would put up. Harry, despite focusing more on the people inside the car than the environment outside, still managed to perfectly memorize the route taken. They had barely left the car when Hermione dragged him off in search of the perfect Christmas tree. It was the first time Harry was doing anything like this and by god, he had fun doing it. Half an hour later the two parents found their daughter and her friend comparing four different trees, two of which Harry was holding in his hands. Emily smiled at the fact that her daughter was obviously not above using Harry's increased strength for her own needs. Dan was momentarily astonished at seeing the 11-year-old holding two spruce trees bigger than himself. One in each hand. If he hadn't seen Harry's obviously non-human eyes this morning, this alone would be enough evidence for him. Finally making her choice Hermione told Harry to carry the other tree back where they found it. Both Dan and Emily were surprised when Harry went off with a confident stride.

"He doesn't get lost." Hermione smiled at her parents, while doing her best to hold the tree upright. When Dan took hold of it he was surprised at how much it weighed, then even more surprised when he remembered that Harry had held it one-handed.

"What do you mean by that?" Em inquired while they begun to make way towards the sales booth.

Hermione seemed eager to explain, "He has this awesome memory when it comes to going somewhere. And it's more than that. We checked. I was randomly selecting portraits that were somewhere in the castle and Harry would lead me there. He got all of them right." She smiled at her shocked parents. "I fully expect that he knows just how to get from here to our home."

"That I do." the unexpected voice behind them startled both adults Grangers and had them spin around, Dan losing hold on the tree he was carrying.

Harry quickly reached out and caught it with ease, "Careful! Hermione spent a lot of time finding this one!" The ease with which the boy before him held the tree was momentarily disconcerting for Dan. He suddenly remembered something Harry had said yesterday, _'that ugly bastard wont be hurting anything ever again'_. He couldn't have... Could he? Pushing that morbid though aside Dan turned around and noticed the amusement in his daughters eyes. She had _known_ he was behind them.

When they finally approached the booth Dan made sure to, _carefully_ , take the tree from Harry. After all, no... human 11-year-old should be able to carry something that heavy. He did find in strange how accepting he was. Then again, his daughter was a witch. She had abilities they didn't, she went to a school that was all but alien to the two dentists. Was her having a non-human best friend that big of a leap?

On their way back Dan wanted to check how accurate Harry's proclamation that he knew the way back was. He decided to have some fun with it and had Harry sit in the front seat and tell him where to go. Even when he started to give wrong directions Dan continued to follow them, confident in his ability to backtrack when the kid finally gave up. It was a very surprised Daniel Granger that drew up the driveway of his house after a drive that was barely half the time as their trip there. Harry had guided him on what at first appeared to be a detour, only to bring them onto roads with much higher speed limits, allowing them to cut a large portion of the travel time off. Dan was suitably impressed.

Not even an hour later Harry had been conscripted by Hermione into helping set up the decorations.

The elder Grangers had been terrified at first, their daughter's focus on perfection would usually make this take hours and hours. It was the first time the two got to see the 'Dynamic Duo' in action. Despite knowing each other for barely a few months, Harry and Hermione had found themselves capable of acting in a manner usually associated with many years of familiarity and practice. Indeed, to the two adults in the room it seemed more like some strange form of dance than working together. As they glanced at each other they both understood that they could never manage anything like this. And Emily had a sneaking suspicion that she was looking at her future son-in-law. It was amazing just to look at. When, a little over an hour later, Hermione announced it was almost done, her parents were forced to admit that the tree had never looked this good. The only thing left was the star at the top. Before Hermione could do more than hold it, Harry suddenly picked her up and seated her on his shoulders. Her surprised yelp grew into amused laughter as he walked over to the tree and let her place the final decoration. Dan could only watch with his jaw hanging. He wasn't sure what was more surprising; the fact that Harry didn't seem to be bothered by the weight on his shoulders or the happiness radiating from Hermione. A quick glance to the side showed him that his wife was in much the same state.

* * *

Christmas morning started as it was usual in the Granger household; by Hermione waking her parents. What was unusual about this particular morning was that, the moment the two of them were up, she raced out of the room to wake the other person in the house. The two parents shared an amused glance, no matter how old she got, this was the one morning she acted like a real kid. Not that long later they two joined the kids downstairs, where all the presents were stacked under the Christmas tree. Dan, a gleeful grin on his face, set about giving out the presents to their recipients. He was rather surprised to find a thick letter that had both his and Emily's names on it. Leaving that for last, he spread out the gifts. Other than the ones from each other and their friends and family, there were two other strange, unsigned gifts, both for Harry.

Harry had delayed in opening his, as his attention was diverted to Hermione looking at the package with his signature on it. From the size and weight she guessed it was a book of some sort. Slowly she removed the packaging, quickly noticing that whatever book it was, it was old, with no title on the cover. Her parents had noticed what she was holding as well and were paying attention. As Hermione slowly, gently opened the book to the first page her eyes went wide as saucers. A moment later she gasped. Then the book was on the couch and Hermione was doing her best to hug the life out of Harry. The two Grangers looked on in shock as Harry laughed at her reaction, "I take it you like my gift?" he laughed some more as Hermione pulled back, her face a mixture of shock and bliss.

"Like it?" she laughed a bit, "Harry, I love it! Where did you even?" she looked back at the book, "I didn't even know..."

After laughing some more he explained, "I was looking for rare books, hoping to find something for our research. That one," he nodded to the book, "was gathering dust in a pawn shop." at her outraged look he chuckled, "I know. That's why I bought it. Well," he smirked, "that and I knew I had just found the perfect gift for you." the grin on Hermione's face told everyone that the assessment had been true.

"Sorry, not to intrude," Emily chuckled at Dan's choice of words, "But... just _what_ book is that?"

"That," Hermione begun, the awe obvious in her voice, "is the _First Edition_ original of Hogwarts: A History."

"Original?" Emily was confused by that.

"As in the one all the copies were made _from_. The one written by Bathilda Bagshot herself!" Hermione almost screamed with joy at the end. "It was thought to be lost, destroyed even. I... Harry," she turned to him, suddenly serious, "This is setting a very high bar for any and all future gifts, you know." As the two kids laughed, the adults begun to comprehend just how _Big_ this gift was. For a moment Dan was concerned at just how the kid could possibly afford this.

Harry had almost finished with his gifts, only the one from Hermione and the two unmarked ones left, when the Grangers finally opened the letter addressed to them. "What!" the exclamation from Emily had both kids look up.

"Harry..." Dan passed him the letter, "Can you explain this?" he voice was quite unreadable.

Harry didn't need to look at the letter to know what it said, his correspondence with Gringotts made this a mere formality. "I had no idea what to get you as a gift." he shrugged, "So I decided to compromise. It is a gift to your entire family." Harry moved to pass the letter back but, as he had expected, it was snatched up by Hermione.

After reading it, then reading it again, she looked up, "You would do that?" she spoke in a small voice.

"No." Harry calmly answered. "It is already done. The transfer was made this morning."

"Harry," Emily took back the letter, "What _exactly_ is this?" she gestured at the letter.

"Safety." he stood and walked to the window, "Safety for you, peace of mind for Hermione..." he sighed, "and me." he finished in a whisper. After several long moments of silence he spoke again, "This is only possible because Hermione lives here. This set of wards is allowed at any residence of a magical, as opposed to any magical residence." he begun to explain, "The age of the magical in question doesn't matter, and, as much as I hate all the fame surrounding me, with my name backing it up, nobody will question it." he looked out the window, into the misty horizon, "Hermione, by doing nothing more than existing, is stepping on quite a few toes. The fact that she is as brilliant as she is makes that number go up considerably. At school it is... common knowledge that I care for her, and that I protect her. But out here... Well... those kids do have families and... Nothing hurts more than losing ones parents..." he drew a shuddering breath.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered in his ear as she hugged him from behind. Neither Dan nor Em made any move to stop her, they were still too shocked at what the letter, their gift from Harry Potter represented.

"The Goblins will come by tomorrow. To examine the property, figure out the best placement and all that. From what they have told me, the wards will be up by new-year's." he slowly turned around, without breaking the hug Hermione held him in, "I do care for you." he whispered to her before kissing her forehead and leaving the room.

* * *

The Christmas dinner was a... strange affair. On one side, everyone enjoyed the delicious food and made sure to compliment Emily on it. On the other, both Dan and Hermione had some inkling on just how expensive that gift from Harry must have been. For different reasons though; Dan, as a military man was quite aware that defences this powerful don't come cheap, that was one rule he knew to be universal. Hermione on the other hand had a good idea on just how powerful these wards would be; and just how much goblins tend to charge for their services. Compared to this, the book he gifted her was small change.

The next morning, as expected, a group from Gringotts arrived. It was lead by a young man, maybe in his early twenties, if that, with, to Harry and Hermione, suspiciously familiar red hair. After he introduced himself as Bill Weasley, Harry couldn't resist, "Any relation to a Ronald Weasley?" he inquired.

"Younger brother." Bill smiled. He had not expected to meet Harry Potter here, but he supposed it made sense.

"My condolences." Harry answered in the most grim voice he could manage.

To the surprise of all, Bill laughed, "So, it is safe to assume Mum dearest has gone all out on him?" he smiled at the surprised looks of the two kids. "There is a reason both me and Charlie left house the second we could. Molly has a view of the world, and anything that doesn't match..." he shrugged. "But enough about me. I have to say, everyone at Gringotts is impressed by what you have pulled off. I heard that when Ragnok found out about this he spent the entire day smiling and laughing randomly." the red-head chuckled, " There are few things Goblins love more than getting a one-up on the ministry."

That statement saw Dan intercede. "Hold on. This is all legal, right?" he looked between Harry, Bill and the people he assumed to be Goblins.

Bill laughed, "Yes, yes it is. And that's what makes it so amusing." he looked at the three confused faces, "Harry used a number of loopholes within the modern laws, and some older laws that never got cancelled." he chuckled again, "It goes back to Grindelwald's War, uhh... you would know it as World War 2." the two adults nodded, "Anyway, there are these old laws that we used for this, it was supposed to be a form of emergency measure, but..." he shrugged again.

A few more minutes of explanation and Dan led the group around the property. After marking down several spots around the perimeter and one in the back yard the team left, after confirming that all future work, until the actual activation of the wards, would be done during the night, as it was still a muggle neighbourhood.

As it was, at the noon of December 30th Hermione, as the only magical in residence, was given control of the finished wards. They were every bit as impressive as promised.

* * *

It was only after new-year's that Harry remembered the two gifts he had never opened. The first contained a small vial of a white mist-like substance. It came with nothing but a note; _A person never truly dies while but one remembers them._ Harry was confused at what the vial contained, or who it was from, but he made sure to carefully store it in his trunk, he would have to ask the teachers when he got back to Hogwarts. The other, somewhat bigger package contained a cloak. It was a strange cloak, from a silk-like material that seemed impossibly smooth. Harry didn't notice the few tiny sparks that flew when he crossed a spot where some string was sown into the cloak. Another anonymous note come with it; _Your father left this with me before he died. Use it well._ It took Harry a few moments to discover it was an invisibility cloak. And only a few minutes more to prank Dan with it. By the time they were due to return to Hogwarts, Dan was all but begging Harry to leave the cloak with him. Emily made sure Harry had it with him when he crossed the barrier to 9¾.

The trip back was fun. Everyone in their study came by to say hi and share stories of their holidays. By unspoken agreement neither Harry nor Hermione mentioned the new wards on Granger residence. As Harry crossed the ward line of Hogwarts he felt a strong tingle, similar to what he had felt back on the boat, but far, far stronger. Harry supposed he was sensing the wards as he crossed them, but then again, he had not felt the tingle when leaving... It was strange, but not really a priority right now. As Harry looked at the castle he couldn't help feeling like he was coming home...


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N**_ [Standard 'I don't own anything' disclaimer.]

Well... It hasn't been a month at least. This whole situation reminds me of one of my favourite sayings: when it rains, it pours. Between several major events at work, upcoming winter and all the preparations thereof and falling sick for over a week (still have that accursed cough) it is not surprising that writing fell over by the wayside. No real promises on when the next chapter will be out, although I _hope_ it will be less of a wait than this one.

As usual, reviews oil the gears of inspiration and are enjoyed.

On with the story!

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was concerned. After all, it had been a full week since Harry Potter returned to the castle and he still hadn't encountered the mirror, despite the compulsion charms Albus had added to the cloak to ensure Harry goes wandering into that particular room. Then again, it was quite possible that Harry would not use the cloak so casually... Once again Albus cursed not adding a compulsion to use the cloak, but what is done is done. After one last glance around the room the aged headmaster left for his chambers.

Harry was having fun. Oh, sure, he was breaking like a dozen school rules, but it only made it even more fun. On a completely unrelated note, the restricted section of the Hogwarts library was at least twice the size of the normal one. Harry chose to believe that whoever sent the cloak to him knew he might (would) use it like this. And if Minerva thought that the stories about his parents would not encourage him to break rules... well... too bad. Harry was having fun.

It was after the first week back at Hogwarts, at the meeting between Harry, Hermione and the teachers (Filius, Minerva and Severus) that Harry brought up the topic of the _other_ mystery gift he had received: the strange mist-filled vial.

"Did the box it was in have anything else?" Severus held the vial to his eyes, he knew quite well what this was, the real question was, who was this from.

Harry shrugged and pulled out the note, "It had this note with it." he passed it to Severus, who immediately read it.

"... while but one remembers... Funny." the normally sour potions master smiled, a sight Harry was starting to get used to, "It is a memory." he looked at Harry, "It can be viewed in a pensieve, similar to a muggle cinema." He got up and walked over to one of the cabinets in his office, where their meeting was taking place, "I have one, so does the headmaster." he pulled out a small shallow stone bowl with a large number of runes engraved along its upper edge. "The problem is that it is impossible to know just what is contained inside one of these," he gestured to the vial, "without actually going in and having a look." he sighed, "While it is not possible to add any directly hostile magic to it, it is possible to... lock, for lack of a better word, someone inside to watch the entire thing. And if the memories are bad enough..." he trailed off.

"So what can I... I mean, I want to... well, know what is in there." Harry looked down at the small unimposing vial, "So what do I..."

"I'll check it first." Severus picked the vial back up and moved to empty it into the stone bowl – the pensieve, "My skill at Occlumency will prevent any long-term effects if this is a trap, and I will be able to determine if the memory is in any way doctored." the vial almost fully filled the pensieve, despite being several times smaller, "Curious. I ask that you don't touch it until I return." he looked right at Harry, "I'll be fine." With that he reached out and touched the surface of the 'liquid' inside the pensieve. Harry watched in fascination as the man before him disappeared moments after.

Several minutes later Severus reappeared at the exact same spot. He was breathing suspiciously slowly and seemed to fight tears, "Harry, who..." he took a deep breath, "Whoever sent this..." He paused again. After a full minute he changed course, "The memory is completely safe. And, I think that Harry should go in first. We can watch it later." A glance at his colleagues stopped any questions from them. Severus guided Harry on how to enter the pensieve, making sure he remembered how to exit before the memory ends, should he want to. Not even a full second after Harry entered the memory he turned to the other student present, "Hermione, you should go in with him." Seeing the girl in question about to open up with her question barrage he continued quickly, "He will need your support. You will understand why once you're in there." Moments later Hermione joined Harry inside the memory.

* * *

The experience of entering into the memory was strange, the entire world around her seemed to fade into a white mist before coalescing into what seemed like the grounds of some English mansion. As Hermione looked around she quickly noticed several things. For one, it was the middle of summer. For another, there were quite a few people present. And if the décor was anything to go by, this was a wedding. Then she noticed the man waiting by the altar. Hermione momentarily froze; it was Harry. Well... a grown-up Harry, but... Then, as she noticed 'Harry's' brown eyes, realization struck her like a bludger: that was not Harry. And as the bride entered the scene Hermione understood just why Severus wanted her here; This was the memory of Harry's parents' wedding. Looking around she noticed her Harry, _'my Harry?'_ standing to the side, visibly holding back tears. Without another thought she rushed over and pulled him into a hug, holding him as the floodgates opened, while beautiful the entire scene also served as a reminder of what Harry had lost,what had been taken from him. Slowly she guided them over to the first row of chairs, sitting the two of them down next to three young man smiling at James Potter and Lily Evans.

One of them, the one with the largest smile was a tall black haired grey-eyed man who seemed to almost radiate happiness. He jabbed his elbow to the side and whispered, Harry and Hermione still heard it. "Peter, this is a happy day, stop worrying."

The man in question appeared to smile and be happy, but was notably nervous, "We are at war. The whole ceremony could have been done with a fraction of the people... This is just asking..."

The man on the other side of the first interrupted, "Calm down. Potter Manor has the best wards outside of Hogwarts. We are safe here." The only detail that stood out about the man was the slight golden colouring to his eyes.

"Yeah, listen to Moony, he knows this stuff." the black-haired man smiled, "Now, pay attention." the three focused back at the scene in front of them.

Harry and Hermione sat there for what felt like hours, watching his parents exchange their wedding wows. It was a strange experience for Hermione, even more so given that this was the first wedding she had been to... assuming this even counts. As she noticed Harry calm down she smiled and leaned into his side, "It is beautiful." she sighed.

"It is." Harry chuckled, "This is a really good gift, actually." he paused, Hermione knew she had to give him the time, "I have no good memories of my parents, now someone has sent me theirs." they sat in silence, watching as the ceremony finished, "I just wish I knew who sent it." Harry whispered just as the world around them started going white.

* * *

Just after Hermione entered the pensieve Severus turned on the spot and walked to his liquor cabinet. Reaching inside he procured the bottle of firewhiskey, _'Didn't have to replace that bottle for nine years. Then Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts and I am already on the third one this year... Should see if I can get him to pay for that, it's not like he doesn't have the gold.'_ Severus mused as he took hold of one glass, then, after a moment of consideration took two more. Sitting down away from the desk with the pensieve on it he filled the three glasses before taking a slow sip from his.

"So. What is it?" Minerva finally voiced the question.

Severus took another sip before answering, "Their wedding."

"You mean?" the transfiguration mistress paled.

"Lily and James, yes." Severus took another long sip before continuing, "I was there, under polyjuice of course, and still... seeing them..." he paused as all three glasses needed refilling. After the three teachers once more had some liquid courage in their hands he continued, "I can't begin to even imagine what Harry must be feeling like right about now."

"What was it you called him..." Filius scrounged his face in thought, "The boy-who-lost-it-all?" A silent nod was all the answer he received.

The three sat in silence for quite some time before it was broken by the two... not children, not really, returning from the memory. It was immediately clear that Severus had made the right call to have Hermione join Harry in there, the tear tracks and their mutual hug made it rather obvious.

"Yeah, me too." Hermione sighed just as the two reappeared. Taking a moment to recognize that they were back she led them to one of the unused chairs in the room. They refused to let go even as Harry sat down and Hermione ended up sitting on his lap, a sight that forced the three teachers to hide their smiles.

"Harry?" after a full minute of silence Minerva finally spoke, "How do you..." she never got to finish.

"It was them." Harry sniffed, "I... I had never actually seen them... well... other than..." he stopped. After taking several calming breaths Harry restarted, "I didn't have any... good.. memories of my parents before this. And... don't take this the wrong way," he looked at the three adults in the room, "I really like hearing all the stories you have about them but..." he trailed off.

"Nothing quite matches seeing it." Severus finished the thought for him.

As Harry was slowly calming down Hermione found her curiosity rearing its head, "I'm curious."

"Is there ever a time you aren't?" Harry's response was almost automatic by now.

Hermione sighed, "Anyway," she looked at Severus, "Why isn't something like this," she gestured to the memory-filled pensieve, "more common? I would think that wizards would prefer this instead of picture albums."

The three teachers shared a look before Severus sighed and sat forward, preparing to explain. "The short and blunt explanation: It is dangerous." he only gave a small pause before continuing, "Knowing you two, here's the longer version. As you both must have figured it out, a pensive can recreate a memory to almost life-like quality." Receiving two nods he continued, "Of course, the memory has no capacity for interaction, it is a memory after all. The problems however arise when someone spends too much time looking at memories inside a pensieve. It is quite possible to get lost in them." he paused for the gasp, "Not literally of course, although... that might almost be better. No, what can, and does, happen is is that over time the wizard or witch in question will begin to lose the ability to recognize when they are inside a memory and when they are not." he sighed, "If my memory serves, there are currently two people in St. Mungo's long term treatment ward because of this."

"That's horrible!" Hermione's quiet exclamation had Severus nod.

"Yes, yes it is. And because they fail to acknowledge that they are not inside a memory it is extremely hard to treat them." He sighed, "The Auror department has a special team that is trained so they can sift through large amounts of pensieve memories with minimal risk. Even then they still undergo regular sessions with mind healers to make sure." the five sat in silence for a moment. "There is little to no harm in us showing you the occasional memory, the really important things, but it cannot be used the way you propose; the danger is far too great."

Hermione nodded in understanding. None of the teachers, nor Harry, commented on the fact that she didn't change her seating arrangements for the rest of the meeting.

* * *

A few days later Harry found himself in the library with Neville, while Hermione was trying to find any of the books about dragons they knew should be there. Harry chose to use the opportunity to speak with his best male friend about something that had come up in the discussion after the three teachers had watched the wedding memory. "Nev, you have a moment to talk?" Harry sat down at the table the other boy was at.

"Sure." Neville put down the book he was reading. Because of the study group the first years had formed they had a lot more free time than usual, Neville was using this time to improve on his potion making skills.

Harry took a moment to consider how to best approach the situation, finally just going for it. "I haven't told this to many people but... someone sent me a memory of my parents' wedding as a Christmas gift." Harry chucked, "Didn't give me a name so I don't know who to send the thanks to, but... well..." he sighed, "You do know your father was best man in their wedding, right?" Neville slowly nodded, suspecting where Harry was going with this. "And... well... your family came up in the discussion about the wedding, and..." Harry took a deep breath, "I didn't know. I mean I had suspected something had... but..." Harry took a moment to gather himself, "What I mean to say is that... well... I may be cursed with having to re-experience my parents deaths one day a year, but I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for you." The two boys sat in silence for a while, neither noticing the bushy head listening to their talk from behind a bookshelf. "So... if you ever need help, any kind of help, just ask and I'll do what I can... brother." Harry held out his hand.

"Brother?" Neville was confused by the statement.

"I'm quite sure that's what we would have grown up to be, had..." both boys felt the sadness, "I found out that your mum was my god-mother and Minerva, that is professor McGonagall, told me that my mum was yours..." he sighed, "I think... I think they would want us to stick together." Neville gave a sad smile and took the offered hand.

"Harry, we have a pro..." at that moment Hermione walked around the end of the bookshelf. "Am I... interrupting something?" she knew she had not.

As Neville started to stutter in surprise Harry narrowed his eyes, and his pupils, as he could all but _smell_ the insincerity coming off of the girl in front of him. Just as Hermione noticed that his eyes had changed, Harry, for the first time ever, felt a slight tingle around his eyes. Instantly focusing on his eyes he shifted them back and shook his head as the feeling didn't go away, merely into the background. "No, we were done for now anyway." he turned to Neville, "We can talk about this some more later. Tonight in the common room perhaps?" receiving a nod Harry turned back to his best _female_ friend, "So... what's the problem?"

Hermione had managed to blink away the surprise at Harry seemingly being aware of his eyes changing and frowned, "All the books about dragons are gone."

That earned a raised eyebrow from Harry, " _All_ of them?"

"Yes." the answer was short and tense.

"Did you ask Madam Pince about it?" Harry fought to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"No..." Hermione answered after several seconds, her voice far lower than before.

Harry smiled, "Then let's go ask her now." Neville shook his head in amusement as the Gryffindor Duo left. They might be only first years but there were already countless rumours going around the school that they were a couple. What Neville found amusing was that they were either totally oblivious to said rumours, a statistical improbability, or, for some reason, did not care about everyone thinking that they were together. Returning to his potions book Neville chuckled at the thought that there was a third possibility; that the rumours were right.


End file.
